THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE    PSYCHOLOGY   OF 
SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 


JSrief  Course  Series  in  Eoucation 

EDITED   BY 

PAUL   MONROE,    PH.D.,    LL.D. 


BRIEF  COURSE  IN   THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION 

PAUL  MONROE,  Director  of  School  of  Education,  Teachers 
College,  Columbia  University. 

BRIEF  COURSE  IN  THE  TEACHING  PROCESS 

GEORGE  D.  STRAYER,  PH.D.,  Professor  of  Educational 
Administration,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 

THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD 

NAOMI  NORSWORTHY,  PH.D.,  formerly  Associate  Professor 
of  Educational  Psychology,  and  MARY  THEODORA  WHITLEY, 
PH.D.,  Assistant  Professor  of  Education,  Teachers  College, 
Columbia  University. 

DEMOCRACY  AND  EDUCATION 

JOHN  DEWEY,  PH.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Philosophy, 
Columbia  University. 

SCHOOL  HYGIENE 

FLETCHER  B.  DRESSLAR,  PH.D.,  Professor  of  Health  Edu- 
cation, George  Peabody  College  for  Teachers,  Nashville. 

PRINCIPLES     OF     SOCIOLOGY     WITH     EDUCATIONAL 
APPLICATIONS 

FREDERICK  R.  CLOW,  PH.D.,  Teacher  in  the  State  Normal 
School,  Oshkosh. 

THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

LETA  S.  HOLLINGWORTH,  PH.D.,  Assistant  Professor  of  Edu- 
cation, Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 

VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 

DAVID  SNEDDEN,  PH.D.,  Professor  of  Education,  Teachers 
College,  Columbia  University. 


THE    PSYCHOLOGY    OF 
SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 


BY 
LETA   S.   HOLLINGWORTH,   PH.D. 

'     ASSISTANT    PROFESSOR    OP   EDUCATION 
TEACHERS    COLLEGE,    COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY 


Wefo  gorfc 

THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

1922 

All  right*  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1920, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  June,  1920. 


NortaooS 

J.  8.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


£<L/  Psych. 
Library 

LB 
loll 

H72 


THIS   BOOK 
IS    DEDICATED   TO 

ELIZABETH   E.    FARRELL 

A    PIONEER 

IN   THE    EDUCATIONAL    FIELD 
OF    WHICH    IT    TREATS 


"The  influences  of  the  environment  are  differen- 
tial, the  product  varying  not  only  in  accord  with 
the  environmental  force  itself,  but  also  in  accord 
with  the  original  nature  upon  which  it  operates. 
We  may  even  expect  that  education  will  be  doubly 
effective,  once  society  recognizes  the  advantages 
given  to  some  and  denied  to  others  by  heredity. 
That  men  have  different  amounts  of  capacity  does 
not  imply  any  the  less  advantage  from  or  need 
of  wise  investment." — EDWARD  LEE  THOENDIKB. 


PREFACE 

WITH  the  growth  of  the  movement  to  establish 
special  classes  for  children  who  are  subnormal  in  in- 
telligence there  has  grown  the  demand  for  teachers 
who  are  trained  in  the  psychology  and  education  of 
such  children.  It  is  my  hope  that  this  volume,  which 
consists  of  lectures  given  for  some  years  past  in 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  may  in  a 
measure  serve  the  purpose  of  such  teachers.  It  is 
addressed  primarily  to  them,  rather  than  to  clin- 
icians, for  whom  the  majority  of  books  on  this  sub- 
ject have  been  hitherto  especially  prepared.  The 
discussion  is,  therefore,  confined  largely  to  the  educa- 
tional psychology  of  mentally  deficient  children,  with 
•relatively  slight  emphasis  on  methods  of  identifica- 
tion and  diagnosis.  The  illustrative  matter,  also, 
relates  to  the  achievement  of  defectives,  rather  than 
to  their  clinical  features. 

There  has  been  a  very  conscientious  effort  to  base 
the  discussion  soundly  upon  the  results  of  psycholog- 
ical research,  as  set  forth  in  the  references  appended. 
The  lists  of  references  are  selected,  not  complete,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  chapters  on  the  psychology  of  de- 
velopment and  learning.  On  these  subjects  the  pur- 
pose has  been  to  refer  to  all  published  experimental 
research  bearing  directly  upon  defectives.  It  is 


X  PREFACE 

unfortunately  true  that  upon  many  points  of  interest 
for  pedagogy  no  scientific  data  are  available,  and  we 
have  still  to  rely  upon  expert  opinion  and  common 
observation. 

It  has  been  my  experience  that  students  who  have 
mastered  fundamental  courses  in  educational  psy- 
chology, and  in  the  essentials  of  biology,  profit  much 
more  by  study  of  the  material  herein  contained  than 
do  those  who  have  not  had  such  previous  training. 
However,  the  aim  has  been  to  present  the  facts  with 
a  minimum  of  technicality. 

As  I  formulated  the  book,  I  became  increasingly 
conscious  of  what  I  owe  to  my  years  of  professional 
association,  first  with  Dr.  M.  G.  Schlapp,  Director  of 
The  Clearing  House  for  Mental  Defectives,  The  Post- 
Graduate  Hospital,  New  York  City,  and  later  with 
Dr.  Menas  S.  Gregory,  Director  of  the  Psychopathic 
and  Alcoholic  Services,  Bellevue  Hospital,  New  York 
City.  Also,  by  way  of  that  unconscious  learning 
from  each  other  which  goes  on  among  those  long 
associated  in  clinical  work,  I  have  gained  much  from 
my  colleagues  at  Bellevue  Hospital,  Dr.  Melvin  J. 
Taylor,  Dr.  Theron  J.  Vosburgh,  Dr.  E.  J.  Barnes, 
and  Dr.  Stephen  P.  Jewett. 

My  thanks  are  due  to  Dr.  Paul  Monroe  for  edi- 
torial supervision  of  my  manuscript. 

LETA  S.  HOLLINGWORTH. 

TEACHERS  COLLEGE, 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY, 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PREFACE ix 

CHAPTER 

I.    INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES 1 

Variability.  Children  differ  greatly  in  mental 
capacity.  Ratio  of  feeble-minded  to  very  gifted. 
Feeble-mindedness  as  related  to  sex.  Feeble-minded- 
ness  as  related  to  race.  Feeble-mindedness  as  related 
to  the  environment. 

II.    THE  SCIENTIFIC  STUDY  OF  MENTAL  DEFECTIVES    .      17 

Why  study  subnormal  children?  Proportion  of 
defectives  among  delinquents.  Among  alcoholics. 
Among  unmarried  mothers.  Among  prostitutes. 
Among  the  unemployed.  Among  dependents.  Cost 
of  anti-social  conduct  of  defectives.  Mentally  de- 
ficient children  in  the  schools.  The  problems  of 
retardation  and  elimination.  Curriculum  supposed 
to  be  at  fault.  Causes  inherent  in  the  children.  Re- 
sults of  mental  surveys.  Mental  deficiency  and 
truancy.  Disciplinary  problems.  Reasons  for  study- 
ing subnormal  children  very  numerous. 

III.  THE  DEFINITION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY      .        .      38 

Terminology.  Early  definitions.  Various  criteria 
of  mental  deficiency.  The  social-economic  criterion. 
The  pedagogical  criterion.  The  medical  criterion. 
The  psychological  criterion.  The  classification  of 
mental  defectives.  "Constitutional  inferiority." 

IV.  IDENTIFICATION 57 

Identification  of  defectives  of  low  grade.  Recogni- 
tion of  milder  degrees  of  subnormality.  Necessity 
for  establishing  a  scientific  method  of  identification. 


xii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTEB  PAOB 

Binet's  measuring  scale.  The  measuring  scale  of 
Yerkes,  Bridges,  and  Hardwick.  The  Stanford  Re- 
vision of  the  Binet-Simon  Scale.  Psychographic 
methods.  Group  tests.  How  a  diagnosis  is  made. 
The  teacher's  duty.  The  school  nurse's  duty.  The 
physician's  duty.  The  psychologist's  duty.  The 
growth  of  psychological  clinics  in  the  United  States. 
The  future  of  the  psychological  olinic. 

V.    ARE  THE  DEFECTIVE  A  SEPARATE  SPECIES?  .        .      79 

Former  assumptions.  The  search  for  qualitative 
differences.  Special  systems  of  education  devised  on 
the  basis  of  erroneous  assumptions.  Norsworthy's  ex- 
periments. Binet's  observations.  Witmer's  conclu- 
sions. Other  evidence.  Implications  for  education. 

VI.    "ARRESTED  DEVELOPMENT" 94 

What  does  "arrested  development"  mean?  The 
limits  of  physical  growth.  The  limits  of  mental 
growth.  Mental  contents  of  the  feeble-minded  com- 
pared with  the  mental  contents  of  normal  children  of 
equal  mental  age.  Do  the  defective  progress  normally 
to  a  certain  point,  and  then  suffer  arrest?  How  long 
do  the  feeble-minded  continue  to  develop  mentally? 
True  cases  of  arrested  development.  Summary  of  the 
facts  concerning  development. 

VII.    ARE  THE  PEBBLE-MINDED  EQUALLY  FEEBLE  IN  ALL 

RESPECTS?      x 109 

Physique.  Sensory  capacity.  Motor  control. 
Instinct  and  emotion.  Intellectual  capacities.  Is  an 
individual  defective  uniformly  feeble  in  all  his  abilities  ? 
Unevenness'  of  abilities  as  shown  by  intelligence  tests. 
The  experiments  of  Ordahl  and  Ordahl.  Variability 
in  school  attainments  of  children  with  identical  mental 
ages.  Idiots-savants.  Implications  for  education. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VIII.     PHYSICAL  TRAITS  OP  THE  FEEBLE-MINDED  .        .     132 

The  correlation  between  physical  traits  and  mental 
traits.  Height  and  weight.  Cranial  measurements. 
Vital  capacity.  Motor  ability.  Variability  in  physi- 
cal traits.  Stigmata  of  degeneration.  Mongolians. 
Microcephalies.  Physical  education.  Birth  rate  and 
mortality. 

IX.    THE  INSTINCTS  AND  EMOTIONS  OF  THE  FEEBLE- 
MINDED       150 

General  consideration  of  instinct  and  emotion.  The 
instinctive  and  emotional  life  of  the  mentally  deficient. 
Analysis  of  crimes  and  misdemeanors.  Legal  respon- 
sibility. Moral  imbeciles.  The  moral  training  of 
mental  defectives. 

X.    How  DO  THE  MENTALLY  DEFECTIVE  LEARN?      .     170 

The  learning  process.  How  do  the  feeble-minded 
compare  with  the  normal  of  equal  chronological  age? 
How  do  the  feeble-minded  compare  with  normals  of 

.  equal  mental  age  ?  Transfer  of  training  in  normal  and 
feeble-minded  of  equal  mental  age.  The  importance 
of  mental  age  in  learning.  Mental  age  not  the  sole 
condition  of  learning.  Summary  of  the  psychology  of 
learning  in  the  case  of  subnormal  children.  Implica- 
tions for  education. 

XI.    CAN  THE  MENTALLY  DEFICIENT  BE  MADE  NORMAL 

BY  ANY  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION?  .  .  .  190 
Is  it  possible  to  overcome  mental  deficiency?  Can 
innate  capacity  for  learning  be  increased?  Fallacies 
based  on  inadequate  experimentation.  What  can 
educational  treatment  do  for  subnormal  children? 
The  nature  of  improvement  in  the  feeble-minded. 
Importance  of  early  diagnosis.  Ability  to  learn 
versus  ability  to  grow.  The  first  recorded  experiment 
in  the  education  of  a  defective. 


xiv  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XII.    THE  CAUSES  AND  THE  PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL 

DEFICIENCY 206 

Prevention  of  mental  deficiency  must  be  based  on 
knowledge  of  its  causes.  Heredity  and  variation. 
Sample  studies  in  the  heredity  of  mental  inferiority. 
Mental  defect  is  inherited.  The  nature  of  heredity. 
Alleged  and  possible  causes  of  deviation  in  the  direc- 
tion of  subnormality.  Alcoholism  and  other  toxic 
conditions  in  the  parents.  Institutional  life.  Sensory 
defects.  Dental  caries  and  defects  of  the  teeth.  Ton- 
sils and  adenoids.  Malnutrition.  Hookworm  and 
malaria.  Physical  defects  in  children  of  normal  in- 
telligence. Physical  defects  in  children  of  very  supe- 
rior intelligence.  Physical  defects  should  be  corrected 
for  the  sake  of  general  health.  The  prevention  of 
mental  deficiency. 

XIII.  SECONDARY  CASES  t  240 
Small  percentage  of  mental  deficiency  due  to  disease 

of  the  nervous  system  or  injury  to  nervous  tissue. 
Syphilis.  Ductless  glands.  Abnormal  growths  in  the 
brain.  Hydrocephalus.  Encephalitis  and  meningitis. 
Epilepsy.  Infantile  cerebral  degeneration.  Injury 
to  the  brain.  These  causes  may  act  upon  any  degree 
of  native  intelligence.  Mental  deficiency  due  to  acci- 
dent and  disease  not  hereditary.  Not  many  secondary 
cases  in  public  schools. 

XIV.  NERVOUS  AND  MENTAL  DISORDERS  WHICH  MAY 

COMPLICATE  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY  .  .  .  253 
The  subnormal  subject  to  mental  and  nervous  dis- 
orders which  may  affect  children  in  general ;  not  ren- 
dered immune  by  inferior  intelligence.  Speech  defects. 
Chorea.  Hysteria.  Dementia  Praecox.  Manic- 
Depressive  Insanity.  Other  forms  of  mental  and 
nervous  disorder  in  mental  defectives. 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS  XV 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XV.    SPECIAL  CLASSES  AND  SPECIAL  SCHOOLS       .        .271 

Why  have  special  classes  been  established  ?  History 
of  special  classes  for  subnormal  children  in  the  United 
States.  Organization  of  special  classes.  Special 
schools.  Training  of  teachers  for  special  classes  and 
special  schools.  Distribution  of  subnormal  children  in 
the  grades.  Relation  between  special  classes  and  the 
psychological  clinic.  Follow-up  work. 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE  PAOB 

1.  Normal  distribution  of   1000  individuals,  chosen  at 

random,  and  measured  in  a  given  trait.  (Sche- 
matic.)  2 

2.  Actual  distribution  of  1000  new-born  male  infants, 

chosen  at  random,  and  measured  for  length,  in 
centimeters.  (From  Montague  and  Hollingworth. 
Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  The  American  Journal 
of  Sociology.) 3 

3.  Flight  of  birds,  illustrating  variability  in  speed  and 

endurance.     (Schematic.) 4 

4.  Actual  distribution  of  905  school  children,  chosen  at 

random,  and  measured  for  general  intelligence. 
(From  Terman.  Reproduced  from  The  Measure- 
ment of  Intelligence,  by  permission  of  and  special 
arrangement  with  Houghton  Mifflin  Company.)  .  7 

5.  Distribution  by  age  of  1000  mental  defectives,  568 

males  and  432  females,  presented  consecutively 
for  diagnosis;  showing  inequality  of  social  and 
economic  pressure  upon  the  two  sexes.  (From 
Hollingworth.  Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  Wil- 
liam Wood  and  Company.)  11 

6.  Showing  schematically  the  erroneous  conception  of 

the  division  between  normal  and  defective,  and 
between  normal  and  genius 80 

7.  Curves  showing  the  normal  increases  in  height,  in 

growing  children,  year  by  year.  (From  Baldwin. 
Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  Prof.  Bird  T.  Baldwin.)  96 

8.  Curves  showing  tlie  normal  increases  in  ability  to  per- 

form the  pictorial  completion  test,  year  by  year,  in 
growing  children.     (From  Pintner  and  Anderson. 
Reproduced  from  The  Pictorial  Completion  Test,  by 
special  arrangement  with  Warwick  and  York.)        .      99 
xvii 


xviii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE  PAGE 

9.  Ball-and-Field.  Reduced  one  half  from  standard  size. 
(From  the  Stanford  Revision  of  the  Binet-Simon 
Scale  for  Measuring  Intelligence.  Reproduced  by 
courtesy  of  Houghton  Mifflin  Company.)  .  .117 

10.  Various  degrees  of  adequacy  in  response  to  Ball-and- 

Field  test,  by  adults  of  various  degrees  of  intel- 
ligence   118 

11.  Typical  record    of    a  defective  child's   performance 

on  the  Stanford-Binet.  Showing  unevenness  of 
abilities 122 

12.  Psychograph  of  a  feeble-minded  adult,  showing  un- 

evenness of  abilities 124 

13.  Curves  showing  the  height  and  weight   of   feeble- 

minded inmates  of  American  institutions,  as  com- 
pared with  normals,  age  forage.  (From  Goddard. 
Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  The  Journal  of  Nervous 
and  Mental  Disease.) 135 

14.  Curves  showing  the  course  of  learning  in  a  defective 

child,  and  in  a  normal  child,  of  equal  birthday  age. 
(From  Strong.  Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  The 
Psychological  Bulletin.)  .  .  .  .  .  .173 

15.  Curves  showing  the  course  of  learning  in  defectives 

and  in  normal  children,  of  equal  mental  age. 
(From  Woodrow.  Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  The 
Journal  of  Educational  Psychology.)  .  .  .  177 

16.  Writing  of  feeble-minded  individuals,   as  compared 

with  that  of  normal  children,  of  equal  mental  age    .     182 

17.  Drawings  of   a   house,    comparing   a   feeble-minded 

adult  with  a  normal  child  of  equal  mental  age         .     183 

18.  Drawings  of  a  man,  comparing  a  feeble-minded  adult 

with  a  normal  child  of  equal  mental  age  .        .        .184 

19.  Responses  of  a  feeble-minded  man,  illustrating  the 

fact  that  specific  training  is  powerless  to  raise  the 
level  of  general  intelligence  .  ...  199 

20.  Heredity  chart,   from   the   family  of   "Sam   Sixty." 

(From  Kostir.  Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  The 
Ohio  Board  of  Administration.)  .  ...  215 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xix 

FIGURE  PAGE 

21.  Facsimile   of   a  letter   written   by   a   feeble-minded 

child  with  chorea 258 

22.  Motor  test  and  handwriting  of  a  normal  child,  com- 

pared with  the  motor  test  and  handwriting  of  a 
child  suffering  from  chorea 260 

23.  Facsimile  of  a  letter  written  by  a  child  in  the  manic 

phase  of  manic-depressive  insanity  ....    264 

24.  Drawing  by  a  child  in  the  manic  phase  of  manic-de- 

pressive insanity      .        .        .        .        .        .        .    265 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF 
SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

CHAPTER   I 

INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES 

THIS  volume  discusses  the  psychology  and  educa- 
tional treatment  of  intellectually  subnormal  children. 
What  concept  have  we  of  subnormality  in  children? 
What  is  a  subnormal  child?  To  speak  of  subnormal 
children  implies  at  once  the  existence  of  normal  or 
average  children,  for  to  be  subnormal  one  must  be  so 
with  respect  to  some  norm  or  standard.  Thus 
thought  will  be  clarified  by  devoting  a  little  time  to 
a  consideration  of  normality.  What  is  a  normal  or 
standard  child? 

Variability.  In  psychological  research  we  find 
that  if  a  large  number  of  individuals,  selected  at  ran- 
dom, are  measured  or  appraised  in  any  given  trait, 
either  mental  or  physical,  about  half  of  them  will  fall 
within  certain  very  narrow  limits ;  while  the  remain- 
ing half  will  distribute  themselves  about  equally  on 
either  side.  Furthermore,  the  farther  we  go  from  the 
confines  of  the  middle  fifty  percent  in  either  direc- 
tion, the  fewer  become  the  individuals  who  fall  there. 


PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 


So  that  when  we  have  finished  measuring  a  thousand 
persons,  and  have  tabulated  and  platted  the  measure- 
ments, we  find  that  we  have  a  curve  approximately 
like  this: 


I::::::::::::::::::::::::::!;:::::::::::  w: 


(Schema 


Flo.   1.  —  Normal  distribution  of  1000  individuals,  chosen  at  random, 
and  measured  in  a  given  mental  or  physical  trait.     (Schematic). 


A  concrete  illustration  will  make  this  entirely  clear. 
It  is  easier  to  think  of  this  matter  in  terms  of  physi- 
cal traits  at  first,  because  we  can  easily  verify  for  our- 
selves the  statement  that  human  beings  differ  widely 
from  each  other  in  physical  traits.  No  two  human 
beings  look  exactly  alike.  Therefore,  suppose  we 
measure  one  thousand  new-born  infants  in  length, 
taking  the  measurement  to  a  centimeter.  We  shall 
obtain  a  table  like  that  on  the  following  page. 

About  half  of  the  infants  measure  between  49  and 
52  centimeters,  with  all  the  remainder  tapering  off 
on  either  side  toward  two  extremes.  As  the  infants 
become  shorter  they  also  become  fewer,  until  we 


INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES 


find  that  only  one  infant  is  as  short  as  38  centimeters. 
And  similarly,  as  the  infants  become  longer  they  also 
become  fewer,  until  at  the  length  62  centimeters  we 
find  only  one  infant.  If  we  plat  a  distribution  curve 
showing  these  facts  graphically,  it  looks  like  this: 


38  39  40  41  42  43  44  45  46  47  48  49  50  51  52  53  54  55  56  57  58  59  60  61  62 
165 


150 

135 

120 

105 

90 

75 

60 

45 

30 

15 


DISTRIBUTION  OF 

1000  NEW-BORN  MALE  INFANTS 

LENGTH  IN  CM. 

(Montague  and  Hollingworth) 


165 
150 
135 
120 
105 
90 
75 
60 
45 
30 
15 


3839  40  41  42  43  44  45  46  47  48  49  50  51  52  53  54  55  56  57  58  59  60  61  62 

FIG.  2.  —  Actual  distribution  of  1000  new-born  male  infants,  chosen 
at  random,  and  measured  for  length  in  centimeters.  (From  Montague 
and  Hollingworth.  Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  The  American  Journal 
of  Sociology.) 

LENGTH  (IN  CENTIMETERS)  OF  INFANTS  AT  BIRTH 


CENTIMETERS 

FREQUENCY 

CENTIMETERS 

FREQUENCY 

CENTIMETERS 

FREQUENCY 

38 

1 

47 

40 

56 

24 

39 

0 

48 

87 

57 

10 

40 

1 

49 

96 

58 

5 

41 

5 

50 

158 

59 

2 

42 

2 

51 

136 

60 

0 

43 

5 

52 

130 

61 

0 

44 

10 

53 

103 

62 

1 

45 

32 

54 

75 

46 

47 

55 

30 

4        PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

The  same  scientific  law  is  illustrated  in  the  flight 
of  large  flocks  of  certain  kinds  of  homing  birds.  No- 
tice a  flock  of  birds  going  south  in  autumn.  The 
flock  looks  like  this: 


FIG.  3.  —  Flight  of  birds,  illustrating  variability  in  speed  and 
endurance.     (Schematic.) 

This  is,  of  course,  simply  the  curve  of  distribution. 
The  birds  are  not  all  equally  swift,  and  are  distrib- 
uted by  the  test  of  their  flight  with  respect  to  speed 
and  endurance.  About  half  of  them  are  what  would 
be  called  average  in  speed  and  endurance.  They  fly 
massed  in  the  center,  approximately  together.  But 
some  are  swifter ;  and  one  is  swifter  than  any  of  his 
fellows,  and  leads  the  flock.  On  the  other  hand, 
some  are  slower  than  the  average;  and  one  or  two 
are  so  slow  that  they  scarcely  can  keep  the  others  in 
sight  at  all. 

Those  forming  the  central  mass  are  the  standard 
or  normal  birds.  Those  ranging  on  each  end  toward 
the  two  extremes  are  the  exceptional  birds.  Normal- 
ity, by  definition,  is  what  the  greatest  number  of  in- 
dividuals can  do.  The  birds  who  fly  far  behind 
might  be  designated  the  subnormal  birds. 

It  is  noticeable,  too,  that  no  two  birds  are  exactly 


INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES  5 

alike  in  ability  to  fly.  If  we  could  measure  this  abil- 
ity to  a  millimeter,  we  should  find  them  all  differing 
more  or  less  among  themselves  in  distance  from  their 
goal. 

These  phenomena  hold  throughout  organic  nature, 
and  the  study  of  them  is  called  the  study  of  indi- 
vidual differences.  When  the  traits  involved  are 
mental,  we  speak  of  the  psychology  of  individual 
differences.  It  is  one  of  the  marvelous  facts  about 
human  beings  that  of  all  the  millions  in  the  world 
no  two  are  exactly  alike  in  any  given  trait,  save  occa- 
sionally by  chance.  Not  even  twins  are  exactly  alike. 
In  twins  who  very  closely  resemble  each  other, 
mentally  and  physically,  differences  will  appear  if 
they  are  seen  together.  Human  beings  differ  widely 
in  physical  characteristics,  but  they  differ  far  more 
in  mental  traits.  These  myriad  dissimilarities  are 
mainly  due  to  the  operation  of  the  relatively  un- 
known laws  of  heredity  and  variation,  upon  which 
biologists  and  psychologists  are  at  present  spending 
much  of  their  research  time. 

Children  Vary  Greatly  in  Mental  Capacity.  The 
interesting  fact  for  us  is  that  children  do  vary  greatly 
in  mental  traits;  that  they  differ  widely  in  intellec- 
tual ability,  by  nature;  and  that  a  small  proportion 
of  them  are  extremely  different  from  the  average  or 
norm.  Those  who  deviate  from  the  norm  in  the  di- 
rection of  inferiority,  we  call  the  subnormal  children. 
They  are  to  be  the  objects  of  special  study  here. 


6        PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

It  is  true  that  a  child  may  be  subnormal  in  any 
one  of  many  different  respects.  He  may  be  below 
the  average  in  emotional  control,  or  in  moral  sense, 
or  in  a  special  function  such  as  adding,  subtracting, 
spelling,  reading,  or  music.  This  volume  does  not  at- 
tempt to  treat  fully  all  these  various  kinds  of  subnor- 
mality.  About  some  of  them  very  little  is  known. 
The  discussion  here  is  limited  primarily  to  subnor- 
mality  in  general  intelligence.  We  shall  study  the 
psychology  of  the  feeble-minded  and  the  dull,  for 
whom  special  classes  have  been  established  now  in 
many  school  systems. 

Dr.  Terman  has  shown  in  his  recent  mono- 
graph how  children  are  distributed  with  respect  to 
general  intelligence.  The  curve  shows  the  same  laws 
as  those  shown  in  physical  traits.  The  majority  of 
children  cluster  around  a  median  point  in  mental 
ability.  By  gradual  degrees  they  approach  the  idiot 
at  the  low  extreme,  and  the  genius  at  the  high  ex- 
treme. The  curve  is  as  shown  in  Figure  4. 

Wherever  we  find  a  large  unselected  group  of 
children,  such  as  is  represented  in  a  public  school 
system  in  the  West  or  Middle  West  in  the  United 
States,  where  all  the  children  except  a  few  idiots  and 
a  few  physical  invalids  are  in  school,  this  is  what  we 
find.  If  we  measure  the  general  intelligence  of  all 
the  school  children,  we  obtain  Terman's  curve  of  dis- 
tribution. Most  of  the  children  are  normal  (aver- 
age), for  normal  in  the  psychological  sense  means,  by 


INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES  7 

definition,  what  the  majority  can  do.  About  two 
percent  of  them  will  fall  so  low  on  the  curve  that  we 
call  them  feeble-minded.  Just  above  them,  and  con- 
tinuous with  them  in  mental  ability,  are  the  dull  and 
inferior,  who  in  turn  merge  with  the  normal.  At  the 
other  extreme,  about  two  percent  of  the  children  will 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  INTELLIGENCE 
AMONG  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 

(Terman) 


10      56-65     66-75      76-85     86-95    96-105106-115116-125126-135136-145     1Q 

.335*       2.3*      8.6^      20.1^     33.9#     23.W      9.0#      2.3#       .55$ 
FIG.  4.  — Actual  distribution  of  905  school  children,  chosen  at  random 
and  measured  for  general  intelligence.     (From  Terman.     Reproduced 
from  The  Measurement  of  Intelligence,  by  permission  of,  and  special 
arrangement  with,  Houghton  Mifflin  Company.) 

fall  so  far  above  the  average  that  they  can  progress 
through  school  approximately  twice  as  fast  as  can 
the  average  child. 

Let  us  note  again  what  was  said  previously,  —  that 
children  differ  far  more  in  mental  traits  than  they  do 
in  physical  traits.  The  tallest  child  of  a  given  age 
is  not  more  than  twice  as  tall  as  the  shortest  child. 


8        PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

among  ten  thousand.  The  longest  infant  in  a  thou- 
sand is  not  quite  twice  as  long  as  the  shortest  infant. 
But  the  most  intelligent  child  among  ten  thousand 
is  many  times  as  capable  as  is  the  dullest.  It  is 
possible  to  find  children  whose  intelligence  is  approx- 
imately zero,  —  vegetative  idiots;  and  to  find,  on  the 
other  hand,  children  whose  intelligence  measures  180 
or  more,  as  compared  with  the  average  of  100.  Two 
children,  one  boy  and  one  girl,  of  more  than  180  in- 
telligence quotient  have  been  found  in  recent  years 
in  the  Horace  Mann  School.  Miss  Coy  furnishes  us 
with  an  account  of  the  school  career  of  a  girl  whose 
intelligence  quotient  is  given  as  167.  Thus  in  men- 
tal traits  there  is  great  variability. 

A  Few  More  Will  Be  Found  among  the  Feeble- 
Minded  than  among  the  Very  Gifted.  It  is  true 
that  if  we  included  not  only  school  children  in  our 
measurement  of  the  juvenile  population,  but  all 
children  born  into  the  community  under  considera- 
tion, we  should  find  our  curve  slightly  weigh  ted  at  the 
lower  end.  This  would  be  the  case  because  disease 
and  accident  can  operate  to  reduce  a  mentality  that 
was  potentially  normal  or  superior.  But  we  know  of 
no  external  influence  that  can  operate  to  raise  a  low 
or  mediocre  mentality  to  higher  levels.  A  small  per- 
centage of  feeble-mindedness  is  caused  by  patholog- 
ical conditions  which  affect  the  nervous  system. 
This  matter  will  be  discussed  more  fully  in  a  subse- 
quent chapter.  For  the  present  we  shall  merely  state 


INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES  9 

that  the  great  majority  of  subnormal  children  result 
just  as  the  mediocre  and  the  superior  result,  from  the 
operation  of  the  laws  of  heredity  and  variation.  Our 
concern  is  with  those  unfortunate  deviates,  who  fall 
at  the  extreme  lower  end  of  the  distribution  curve  for 
general  intelligence. 

Feeble-Mindedness  as  Related  to  Sex.  It  has 
sometimes  been  stated  that  there  are  more  feeble- 
minded boys  than  feeble-minded  girls.  This  state- 
ment has  been  based  on  erroneous  inferences,  from 
the  statistics  of  institutions  for  the  detention  of  the 
feeble-minded.  These  statistics  nearly  always  show 
that  there  are  more  males  than  females  among  in- 
mates. The  following  figures,  taken  from  Dr.  Kuhl- 
mann's  researches,  are  fair  samples: 

1.  Results  of  1915  Questionnaire,  returned  from 
seven  states: 

In  Institutions  for  the  Feeble-Minded 

Males        Females 

Number 4,046  3,518 

Percent 53.5  46.5 

2.  U.  S.  Report  for  1910. 

En  Institutions  for  the  Feeble-Minded 

Number 11,015  9,716 

Percent 53.8  46.2 

It  is  true  that  institutional  statistics  almost  inva- 
riably show  more  males  than  females  detained  as 
feeble-minded.  It  would,  however,  be  unscientific 


10      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

to  conclude  from  such  data  that  there  are  more 
feeble-minded  males  in  the  population  at  large ;  that 
more  feeble-minded  males  are  born.  Institutional 
statistics  may  be  merely  an  index  of  the  degree  to 
which  it  is  easier  for  one  sex  to  survive  outside  of  in- 
stitutions, than  it  is  for  the  other. 

That  such  is  indeed  the  case  is  well  shown  by  a  re- 
search made  at  the  Clearing  House  for  Mental  De- 
fectives, in  New  York  City,  in  1913.  One  thousand 
consecutive  cases  of  intellectual  defect  were  taken 
from  the  files  of  this  institution.  In  all  cases  the 
chronological  age  and  the  intellectual  status  (mental 
age)  were  carefully  noted.  Of  the  1000  individuals 
thus  tabulated,  568  were  males  and  432  were  females. 
Of  individuals  brought  for  diagnosis  before  they  were 
sixteen  years  old,  490  were  males  and  273  were  fe- 
males. Of  individuals  brought  after  they  were  six- 
teen years  old,  78  were  males  and  159  were  females. 
Of  individuals  over  thirty  years  of  age  there  were 
three  times  as  many  females  as  males.  These  facts 
are  shown  graphically  in  Figure  5. 

The  research  also  showed  that  the  males  brought 
to  this  clinic  for  diagnosis  and  commitment  were  of 
distinctly  higher  mental  status,  age  for  age,  than 
were  the  females.  The  figures  proved,  for  instance, 
that  a  girl  or  woman  with  a  mental  age  of  six  years 
survives  outside  of  institutions  about  as  well  as  does 
a  boy  or  man  with  a  mental  age  of  ten  or  eleven 
years. 


INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES 


11 


The  reason  for  this  state  of  affairs  is  not  far  to 
seek.  To  interpret  the  facts  we  have  but  to  reflect 
en  our  social  organization.  Women  and  girls  as  a 
class  do  not  follow  competitive  careers.  The  work  of 


0246    8  10  1214  16182022242628303234  36384042  44464850525456 


65 


-60 


DISTRIBUTION  BY  AGE  OF  1000  MENTAL  DEFECTIVES 
FRESEN  TED  CONSECUTIVELY  FOR  DIAGNOSIS 


(tiollingworth) 


0246    8101214161820222426283032343638404244464850525456 

FIG.  5.  —  Distribution  by  age  of  1000  mental  defectives,  568  males 
and  432  females,  presented  consecutively  for  diagnosis ;  showing  inequal- 
ity of  social  and  economic  pressure  upon  the  two  sexes.  (From  Holling- 
worth.  Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  William  Wood  and  Company.) 

the  majority  is  in  the  house,  domestic  service  and 
child-bearing,  performed  in  isolation,  and  not  in  com- 
petition with  others  for  a  wage.  Moreover,  in  our 
society,  sex  as  such  may  be  a  commercial  asset  to 


12      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

girls  and  women,  opening  to  them  ways  in  which  they 
may  survive  without  much  regard  to  intellectual 
status.  The  various  psychological  studies  of  prosti- 
tutes make  this  fact  clear  beyond  a  doubt. 

Men,  on  the  other  hand,  form  a  highly  competitive 
class,  working  in  rivalry  with  each  other  for  a  wage. 
The  boy  who  cannot  compete  becomes  an  object  of 
concern,  is  brought  to  the  clinic,  and  is  directed  to- 
ward an  appropriate  institution.  The  girl  who  can- 
not compete  is  not  so  often  recognized  as  defective, 
since  it  is  not  unnatural  for  her  to  drop  into  the  non- 
competitive  life  of  the  home,  where  she  can  "  take 
care  of  "  small  children,  peel  potatoes,  scrub,  and  per- 
form other  routine  household  tasks.  If  physically 
passable,  as  is  often  the  case,  she  may  marry,  thus 
fastening  herself  to  economic  support.  Indeed,  it  is 
not  at  all  uncommon  for  the  ignorant  parents  of  a 
feeble-minded  girl  to  object  strenuously  to  her  com- 
mitment, on  the  grounds  that  she  already  has  "  a 
nice  fellow,"  and  will  soon  marry.  Social  and  eco- 
nomic pressure  bears  very  unequally  upon  the  sexes 
in  the  matter  of  commitment  to  institutions  for  the 
feeble-minded. 

The  reports  made  by  inspectors  of  ungraded  classes 
also  nearly  always  show  more  boys  than  girls  in  such 
classes.  For  example,  in  a  recent  survey  of  the  un- 
graded classes  of  the  Bronx,  in  New  York  City,  there 
were  found  258  boys  and  103  girls  on  the  register. 
The  inspector,  however,  does  not  fall  into  the  error 


INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES  13 

of  concluding  that  this  means  more  feeble-minded 
boys  than  girls  in  the  schools  at  large.  She  says, 
"  The  fact  that  more  boys  than  girls  are  found  in 
these  ungraded  classes  permits  of  explanation  other 
than  that  of  greater  variability  in  males.  One  of 
these  is  based  on  the  fact  that  boys  have  greater  free- 
dom, are  less  restrained  than  girls.  Because  of  this, 
they  come  into  conflict  with  their  school  environ- 
ment. This  maladjustment  makes  it  imperative 
that  some  notice  be  given  to  them,  and  some  expla- 
nation sought." 

Dr.  Sylvester  makes  the  same  general  observa- 
tion, in  discussing  the  fact  that  more  boys  than  girls 
are  found  in  ungraded  classes  in  Philadelphia.  He 
says,  "  Sex  distribution  is  of  little  importance.  For 
reasons  not  of  interest  here,  a  relatively  small  num- 
ber of  girls  are  placed  in  the  special  backward  classes. 
It  is  a  matter  of  observation  confirmed  by  these  re- 
sults (in  mental  tests),  that  the  girls  of  these  classes, 
as  a  group,  are  more  backward  than  the  boys.  .  .  . 
Obviously  the  girls  of  a  mental  grade  corresponding 
to  the  brighter  boys  in  the  backward  classes  were  left 
in  the  regular  classes." 

Dr.  Terman  found  that  when  pupils  are  meas- 
ured at  random,  in  a  wholly  objective  way,  by  means 
of  mental  tests,  there  is  no  sex  difference  in  numbers 
of  feeble-minded  identified. 

The  conclusion,  therefore,  is  that  there  are  as 
many  feeble-minded  girls  as  boys  in  the  schools,  but 


14      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

that  the  former  are  not  so  frequently  selected  for 
ungraded  classes,  where  subjective  judgment  enters 
at  all  into  the  choice.  The  subjective  standard  of 
what  constitutes  normal  intelligence  is  apparently 
lower  for  girls  than  it  is  for  boys. 

Feeble-Mindedness  as  Related  to  Race.  The  few 
investigations  which  have  been  made  in  the  matter 
of  race  differences  in  intelligence  have  indicated  that, 
on  the  whole,  Indian  and  negro  children  have  a 
somewhat  lower  average  intelligence  than  do  white 
children.  This  would  mean,  then,  that  a  greater 
proportion  of  negro  or  Indian  children  would  be  far 
behind  the  norms  in  mixed  communities,  than  would 
be  the  case  with  white  children.  A  greater  percent- 
age of  negroes  and  Indians  would  find  their  way  into 
the  ungraded  classes,  where  the  norms  of  perform- 
ance are  determined  or  partially  determined  by 
whites.  White  children  of  various  nationalities  seem 
to  be  very  much  alike  in  respect  to  the  proportion 
of  feeble-minded  among  them.  Mental  tests  seem, 
on  the  whole,  to  give  about  the  same  results  when 
used  on  English,  German,  Russian,  and  Italian  chil- 
dren. A  great  many  more  comparative  studies  of 
races  will  be  necessary  before  absolutely  conclusive 
statements  can  be  made  on  the  subject.  It  may  be 
that  a  comparison  of  the  black  race  and  the  white 
race,  based  on  negroes  found  in  the  United  States,  is 
misleading,  for  we  cannot  be  sure  that  their  ances- 
tors formed  a  wholly  unselected  sampling  of  negroes. 


INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES  15 

Possibly  those  who  could  be  caught  and  led  into  slav- 
ery were  on  the  average  more  stupid  than  those  who 
were  not  caught.  If  this  were  true,  a  comparison 
between  the  white  race  and  the  black  race,  based 
on  negroes  found  in  the  United  States,  would  be  as 
misleading  as  a  comparison  of  native  Americans  with 
Italians  or  Portuguese  found  in  the  United  States. 

Feeble-Mindedness  as  Related  to  the  Environ- 
ment. It  is  quite  true  that  we  find  inferior  children 
originating  most  often  in  inferior  homes.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  feeble-minded  come  from  families  with 
inferior  incomes,  living  in  an  inferior  environment. 
It  is  very  easy  to  misinterpret  this  state  of  affairs, 
and  to  infer  that  the  low-grade  environment  is  the 
cause  of  the  children's  inferiority.  It  has  even  been 
suggested  that  we  should  obtain  norms  for  the  vari- 
ous social  classes,  as  though  all  could  not  be  related  to 
one  norm  for  the  population  chosen  at  random.  If 
carried  out  to  its  logical  conclusion,  this  would  mean 
that  by  measuring  the  inmates  of  schools  for  the 
feeble-minded,  we  might  obtain  a  norm  which  would 
be  applicable  to  such  inmates,  on  the  basis  of  which 
they  could  then  be  classified  as  "  normal " ! 

The  most  reasonable  interpretation  of  the  relation- 
ship which  is  found  between  feeble-mindedness  and 
low-grade  environment  is  that  the  former  is  the  cause 
of  the  latter.  Feeble-minded  parents  produce  feeble- 
minded children,  and  they  also  maintain  inferior 
homes. 


16      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 


REFERENCES 

1.  Hollingworth,  L.  S.,    The  Frequency  of  Amentia  as  Re- 
lated to  Sex.    Medical  Record.    Oct.,  1913. 

2.  Kuhlmann,  F.,  The  Part  Played  by  the  State  Institutions 
in  the  Care  of  the  Feeble-Minded.    Journal  of  Psycho-Asthenics. 
Sept.  and  Dec.,  1916. 

3.  Montague,  H.,  and  Hollingworth,  L.  S.,  The  Comparative 
Variability  of  the  Sexes  at  Birth.    American  Journal  of  Sociology. 
Nov.,  1914. 

4.  Morse,  J.,  A  Comparison  of  White  and  Colored  Children 
Measured   by   the   Binet-Simon   Scale   of   Intelligence.    Popular 
Science  Monthly.    1914. 

5.  Phillips,   B.   A.,    The   Binet   Tests   Applied   to   Colored 
Children.    Psychological  Clinic.    1914. 

6.  Report  on  the  Mental  Examination  of  Certain  Pupils  in 
the  Thomas  Indian  School,  Iroquois,  N.  Y.    Eugenics  and  Social 
Welfare  Bulletin  No.  XI.    Bureau  of  Analysis  and  Investigation, 
State  Board  of  Charities.    Albany,  N.  Y. 

7.  Reports  on  Special  Classes.    Nineteenth  Annual  Report. 
Sex  Distribution  of  Children  in  Ungraded  Classes  in  the  Bronx. 
Department  of  Education.    New  York  City,    1916-17. 

8.  Rowe,  E.  C.,  Five  Hundred  and  Forty-Seven  White,  and 
Two  Hundred  and  Sixty-Eight  Indian  Children  Tested  by  the 
Binet-Simon  Tests.    Pedagogical  Seminary.    1914. 

9.  Strong,  A.  C.,  Three  Hundred  and  Fifty  White  and  Colored 
Children  Measured  by  the  Binet-Simon  Measuring  Scale  of  In- 
telligence.   Pedagogical  Seminary.    1913. 

10.  Sunne,  D.,  A   Comparative   Study   of  White  and  Negro 
Children.    Journal  of  Applied  Psychology.     1917. 

11.  Sylvester,    R.,    The    Form    Board.    Psychological    Mono- 
graphs.   Volume  XV,  No.  4.    Sept.,  1913. 

12.  Terman,  L.  M.,  Sex  Differences.    The  Relation  of  Intelli- 
gence to  Social  Status.     (Stanford  Revision  and  Extension  of  the 
Binet-Simon   Scale    for    Measuring    Intelligence.)     Warwick   and 
York.    Baltimore.    1917. 

13.  Thorndike,  E.  L.,  Individuality.    Houghton  Mifflin  Com- 
pany.   New  York.    1911. 

14.  Whipple,    G.    M.,    Classes    for    Gifted    Children.    Public 
School  Publishing  Co.,  Bloomington,  III.    1919. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE    SCIENTIFIC    STUDY    OF    MENTAL  DEFECTIVES 

What  Reasons  Have  Educators  and  Society  at  Large 
/or  Studying  Subnormal  Children?  Let  us  reflect 
for  a  moment  upon  the  significance  of  such  children 
for  the  social  life  of  their  day,  and  for  the  future  his- 
tory of  civilization.  We  have  our  distribution  curve, 
representing,  let  us  say,  the  intelligence  of  all  adults 
at  any  given  time.  We  have  the  average,  the  ma- 
jority of  mankind,  working  along  and  conserving  the 
traditions  of  the  race.  They  live  with  average  abil- 
ity and  in  average  happiness.  They  present  no  spe- 
cial problem.  They  determine  the  normal  life  of 
their  time  by  sheer  force  of  numbers.  They  tend 
neither  to  degenerate,  nor  to  advance  markedly  be- 
yond traditions. 

At  the  extremely  low  end  of  our  curve  we  have  the 
undesirable  and  unfortunate  deviates,  the  dull,  the 
subnormal.  They  constitute  a  great  burden,  eco- 
nomically and  socially.  They  tend  to  draw  the  whole 
mass  of  mankind  downward.  This  influence  works 
in  a  great  variety  of  ways.  By  intermarriage  with 
the  more  intelligent,  the  subnormals  tend  to  de- 
grade all  the  social  body.  By  marrying  or  cohabiting 
c  17 


18      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

among  themselves  they  produce  a  numerous  off- 
spring, and  increase  the  financial  burden  on  public 
and  private  charity.  Psychologists  working  in  penal 
institutions  and  courts  have  shown  conclusively  that 
crime  and  delinquency  of  all  kinds  are  closely  related 
to  mental  subnormality.  Alcoholism  is  closely 
bound  up  with  mental  deficiency,  many  feeble- 
minded persons  being  chronic  drunkards.  Disease 
easily  originates  among  the  unintelligent,  and  is 
spread  broadcast  by  them.  The  problem  of  the  un- 
married mother  is  to  be  understood  more  clearly  in 
the  light  of  mental  inferiority.  Since  subnormal 
children  grow  up  into  subnormal  adults,  there  is  cer- 
tainly sufficient  reason  here  for  studying  them. 

The  Proportion  of  Mentally  Deficient  among  De- 
linquents Is  Very  Great.  In  California,  where  the 
problem  of  subnormality  has  been  studied  by  psy- 
chologists and  educators  with  special  care,  it  is  stated 
that  on  the  most  conservative  reckoning,  more  than 
twenty-five  percent  of  the  inmates  of  reform  schools 
are  feeble-minded;  that  the  proportion  is  fully  as 
high  among  those  brought  into  the  juvenile  courts; 
and  that  a  fourth,  at  least,  of  the  convicts  in  the 
prison  of  St.  Quentin  are  either  defective  or  just 
above  definite  deficiency.  In  New  York,  psycholo- 
gists give  the  percentage  of  feeble-minded  in  reform- 
atories and  prisons  as  approximately  twenty-five  per- 
cent. In  the  Bedford  Reformatory  for  Women  about 
a  fourth  of  the  inmates  were  found  to  be  feeble- 


SCIENTIFIC  STUDY  OF  MENTAL  DEFECTIVES     19 

minded ;  in  Auburn  Prison  the  same  proportion ;  and 
in  the  Westchester  County  Penitentiary  the  percent- 
age rises  to  one  third. 

In  Illinois,  the  figures  are  about  the  same.  It 
would  be  merely  wearisome  to  multiply  statistics. 
As  psychological  investigation  progresses,  the  prob- 
lem is  shown  to  be  nation-wide;  indeed,  world-wide. 
There  is  no  longer  any  question  of  the  fact  that  de- 
linquency and  mental  subnormality  are  causally  re- 
lated. 

Alcoholics  Are  Ojten  Mentally  Deficient.  The 
problem  of  chronic  alcoholism,  which  has  always 
been  such  a  burden  on  society,  is  much  more  clearly 
seen  when  viewed  in  the  light  of  psychological  data. 
Dr.  V.  V.  Anderson  found  that  of  one  hundred 
drunken  women  a  large  proportion  were  not  of  nor- 
mal mentality.  Dr.  H.  H.  Goddard  has  laid  stress 
on  feeble-mindedness  as  a  cause  of  alcoholism.  The 
present  writer  has  seen  how  great  a  part  low  intelli- 
gence plays  in  filling  the  alcoholic  wards  of  Bellevue 
Hospital,  in  New  York  City.  To  study  subnormal 
children  is  therefore  to  study,  in  some  measure,  the 
problem  of  alcoholism. 

There  Are  Many  Feeble-Minded  Women  among 
Unmarried  Mothers.  Dr.  Jean  Weidensall  has  re- 
ported the  percentage  of  mental  defectives  among  an 
unselected  series  of  the  unmarried  mothers,  from  the 
obstetrical  service  of  the  Cincinnati  General  Hospi- 
tal. The  mental  examination  of  these  women 


20      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

showed  that  between  54  percent  and  58  percent  of 
them  were  definitely  feeble-minded.  "From  40  to 
45  percent  of  the  unmarried  mothers  are  almost  with- 
out question  so  low-grade  mentally  as  to  make  life 
under  institution  care  the  only  happy  one  for  them- 
selves, and  the  most  economical  and  the  only  safe 
arrangement  for  society."  The  findings  of  Dr.  Grace 
Fernald  in  California  are  in  harmony  with  these  re- 
sults. The  illegitimate  child  is  very  frequently  the 
offspring  of  a  feeble-minded  mother. 

Many  Prostitutes  Are  Feeble-Minded.  Studies 
made  at  Bedford  Reformatory,  in  New  York,  by  the 
New  York  Probation  and  Protective  Association,  at 
the  Magdalen  Home  in  New  York  City,  and  in  other 
places  prove  that  there  are  many  mentally  defective 
prostitutes.  The  proportion  among  the  girls  who  are 
detained  in  these  institutions  does  not,  of  course, 
fairly  represent  the  proportion  of  feeble-minded 
among  prostitutes  in  general,  for  only  the  more  stu- 
pid are  likely  to  be  apprehended.  The  brightest  are 
not  available  for  mental  examination.  Neverthe- 
less, it  is  quite  evident  that  prostitution  gains  hun- 
dreds of  recruits  annually  from  the  numbers  of  the 
intellectually  subnormal. 

Chronic  Unemployment  Is  Often  Due  to  Mental 
Deficiency.  Tests  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  migrat- 
ing, unemployed  men,  commonly  called  "  hoboes," 
who  passed  through  Palo  Alto,  California,  in  the 
spring  of  1915,  gave  a  proportion  of  feeble-minded- 


SCIENTIFIC  STUDY  OF  MENTAL  DEFECTIVES     21 

ness  as  high  as  that  found  among  convicts.  Of  un- 
employed men  who  came  for  shelter  to  the  Municipal 
Lodging  House  in  New  York  City  during  the  winter 
of  1914,  one  in  every  eight  was  shown  by  mental  tests 
to  be  definitely  feeble-minded.  No  record  was  kept 
of  the  number  who  tested  just  above  the  border-line, 
but  the  number  must  have  been  very  great.  One  of 
the  commonest  complaints  made  of  feeble-minded 
individuals,  in  reply  to  the  question,  "  Why  do  you 
bring  him  here?  "  is,  "  He  cannot  hold  a  job." 

The  Cost  of  All  This  Anti-Social  Conduct  Is 
Very  Heavy.  Dr.  Terman  estimates  that  feeble- 
minded criminals  and  misdemeanants  cost  California 
annually  about  $2,000,000.  "  When  there  is  added 
to  this  the  loss  accruing  from  the  part  played  by 
feeble-mindedness  in  alcoholism,  pauperism,  prosti- 
tution, and  disease,  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that 
the  mentally  defective  inhabitants  of  California  en- 
tail a  burden  upon  the  state  in  excess  of  $5,000,000  a 
year." 

The  State  Commission  of  Prisons  of  New  York 
estimates  that  it  costs  $1,000  to  detain,  indict,  try, 
and  dispose  of  the  average  felon.  In  the  year  1917, 
2,279  felons  were  received  into  the  State  prisons, 
costing  the  public  treasury  $2,279,000.  Of  these  in- 
dividuals eighty-seven  percent  had  served  previous 
terms.  By  their  release  into  the  community,  and 
their  return  to  their  former  habits,  the  State  had  to 
spend  about  $2,000,000  to  dispose  of  them  again. 


22      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

Each  time  this  great  group  of  repeaters  has  to  be  re- 
tried, the  same  great  amount  of  money  must  be  ex- 
pended again. 

What  California  and  New  York  spend  is  not  more 
than  has  to  be  spent  by  other  states.  The  burden  is, 
however,  not  only  financial.  Misery  and  disease 
are  generated  by  the  mentally  defective.  Normal 
persons  are  often  the  victims  of  their  crimes.  Nor- 
mal persons  are  contaminated  by  the  diseases  which 
they  carry.  Nothing  can  be  more  certain  than  that 
low-grade  intelligence  constitutes  one  of  the  heaviest 
social  burdens  with  which  we  have  to  reckon. 

Nearly  All  of  the  Mentally  Defective  Pass,  as 
Children,  through  the  Schools.  Under  our  compul- 
sory school  laws  all  except  the  lowest  grade  of  feeble- 
minded come  under  the  supervision  of  the  teachers. 
The  defective  paupers,  criminals,  unmarried  mothers, 
alcoholics,  prostitutes,  hoboes  all  have  school  histo- 
ries. When  these  histories  are  elicited,  it  is  found 
that  they  were  the  chronically  "left  back,"  the  tru- 
ants, the  disciplinary  problems.  Typically  they  drift 
through  school  as  repeaters,  till  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
years  they  have  reached  the  5th  or  6th  grade.  They 
then  drop  out,  being  no  longer  within  the  limits  of 
compulsory  school  age.  Young  adults,  who  have 
passed  through  school  since  ungraded  classes  have 
been  established,  sometimes  have  a  history  of  having 
attended  these  classes.  All  subnormal  individuals 
should  be  identified  and  studied  while  yet  they  are 


SCIENTIFIC  STUDY  OF  MENTAL  DEFECTIVES     23 

children,  in  order  that  they  may  be  trained  in  useful 
specific  habits  up  to  the  limits  of  capacity;  and  in 
order  that  those  who  are  incapable  of  any  social  ad- 
justment may  be  protected  from  miserable  and  de- 
linquent careers.  We  must  discover  the  subnormal 
child,  who  is  potentially  a  social  menace. 

Dr.  Glueck,  of  Sing  Sing  Prison,  reproaches  educa- 
tors for  their  failure  to  identify  and  study  those  de- 
fective children  who  later,  as  adults,  became  inmates 
there.  He  says: 

"  Whatever  justification  there  may  have  been  for  the  indiffer- 
ence displayed  toward  the  many  deviations  from  average  normal 
behavior,  which  so  many  of  these  individuals  manifested  in  their 
parental  homes,  surely  the  failure  to  appreciate  these  indica- 
tions of  a  pathological  state  during  their  contact  with  the  public 
school  cannot  be  easily  condoned.  ...  At  any  rate  from  the  biol- 
ogist's point  of  view,  education  should  have  for  its  object  pri- 
marily the  fitting  of  the  individual  for  proper  living,  and  in  this 
respect  our  school  system  has  singularly  failed,  as  far  as  these 
cases  are  concerned.  Not  that  we  believe  that  any  large  number 
of  these  ninety-eight  defectives  could  have  been  restored  to  nor- 
mality, but  we  do  insist  that  in  a  great  many  instances  they  gave 
highly  suggestive,  if  not  unmistakable,  evidence  during  their 
school  life  of  being  incapable  of  proper  adjustment  under  ordi- 
nary conditions  of  life,  and  that  some  provision  should  have  been 
made  for  placing  them  in  a  more  appropriate  environment. 

"  Aside  from  the  fact  that  nine  never  reached  beyond  the  third 
grade,  that  five  never  reached  beyond  the  fourth  grade,  and  that 
twelve  never  reached  beyond  the  fifth  grade,  many  traits  came  to 
light  which  should  have  been  properly  evaluated.  Thus,  back- 
wardness and  inability  to  learn,  which  necessitated  repetition  of 
classes  on  one  or  more  occasions,  was  manifested  in  thirty-four 
instances;  excessive  truancy  in  twenty-one  instances;  incorrigibil- 
ity  in  five;  extremely  irregular  attendance  in  eight;  inability  to 
get  along  socially  in  five;  extreme  dislike  for  studies  in  eleven; 
one  case  terminated  in  expulsion,  and  a  number  of  them  had  to  be 


24      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

transferred  to  reformatory  institutions  direct  from  school.  In 
four  instances  school  attendance  was  begun  after  the  age  of  ten 
had  been  reached. 

"  If  there  has  been  no  opportunity  thus  far  to  demonstrate 
clearly  the  beneficent  results  of  a  rational  administration  of 
problems  of  juvenile  maladjustment,  because  a  rational  approach 
to  this  problem  has  been  in  vogue  only  during  very  recent  years, 
the  facts  brought  out  in  this  study  ought  to  emphasize  sufficiently 
the  extreme  danger  involved  in  an  indifferent  approach  to  such 
problems." 

Dr.  George  Ordahl,  psychologist  of  the  Sonoma 
State  Home  in  California,  lays  great  stress  on  the  de- 
sirability of  a  system  of  studying  children  "  which 
would  insure  the  detection,  in  the  first  ten  years  of 
life,  of  children  who  are  certain  to  become  wards  of 
the  state  later  in  life,  and  who,  if  not  detected  at  this 
early  period,  will  reproduce  their  kind  and  otherwise 
become  a  burden  to  society." 

For  About  Ten  Years  Educators  Have  Been  Study- 
ing Retardation  in  the  Schools.  In  1909  Dr.  Leon- 
ard P.  Ayres  made  an  elaborate  study  of  educational 
retardation  in  the  public  schools  of  this  country.  He 
found  an  astonishingly  large  percentage  of  pupils  be- 
low normal  in  school  status.  Hundreds  of  children 
were  failing  to  make  a  grade  a  year.  In  every  school 
system  studied  there  were  found  to  be  many  children 
older  for  their  grades  than  they  should  have  been. 
In  his  report  Ayres  said: 

"  These  children  constitute  serious  problems  for  the  teachers. 
They  are  misfits  in  the  classes,  require  special  attention,  and  ren- 
der more  difficult  the  work  with  other  children." 


SCIENTIFIC  STUDY  OF  MENTAL  DEFECTIVES     25 

Sixteen  percent  of  the  children  in  the  systems 
studied  were  "repeaters,"  that  is,  were  doing  the 
work  of  the  grade  for  the  second  or  third  time. 

"  This  means  that  in  the  country  as  a  whole,  about  one-sixth  of 
all  the  children  are  repeating,  and  we  are  annually  spending  about 
$27,000,000  in  this  wasteful  process  in  our  cities  alone." 

Many  Educators  Inferred  That  This  Great  Amount 
of  Retardation  Was  Due  to  Faults  in  the  Curriculum. 
As  soon  as  the  statistics  of  retardation  and  elimina- 
tion, which  were  collected  all  over  the  country  after 
Ayres'  study  was  published,  became  known  among 
educators,  the  search  for  the  causes  of  the  condition 
began.  In  this  search  the  curriculum  was  first  at- 
tacked. It  was  believed  that  if  a  new  curriculum 
could  be  devised  and  established,  retardation  and 
elimination  would  cease  to  be  school  problems.  This 
approach  was,  however,  not  very  fruitful  in  result's, 
except  where  the  device  of  the  differentiated  curric- 
ulum was  tried.  So  long  as  a  single  curriculum  was 
offered  for  all  pupils,  retardation  and  elimination 
continued  to  be  problems.  No  curriculum  has  ever 
been,  found  that  will  eliminate  these  problems,  if  it 
is  applied  impartially  to  all  children  attending  school. 
The  desired  result  was  achieved  only  when  different 
curricula  were  applied  to  different  pupils. 

The  Causes  of  Retardation  and  Elimination  Are 
Usually  Inherent  in  the  Children  Themselves. 
While  the  curriculum  was  being  examined  and  over- 
hauled, studies  of  the  mental,  physical  and  social 


26      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

condition  of  school  children  were  undertaken.  These 
revealed  to  what  an  extent  retardation  and  elimina- 
tion are  due  to  the  condition  of  the  children,  rather 
than  to  the  course  of  study  itself.  They  showed  why 
only  the  differentiated  curriculum  is  effective  in  solv- 
ing these  problems. 

The  causes  of  educational  retardation  are  various. 
Some  of  the  children  fail  of  promotion  because  they 
have  been  out  for  months  or  a  year  through  accident 
or  severe  illness.  Others  are  old  for  their  grade  be- 
cause they  made  a  late  entrance  into  school.  Others 
are  handicapped  by  some  defect  of  the  special  senses. 
Others  are  lazy  or  mischievous.  Still  others  suffer 
from  chronic  physical  ailments,  such  as  tuberculosis, 
hookworm,  or  anaemia,  which  interfere  with  normal 
school  progress.  Speech  defects  hold  a  certain  num- 
ber back.  Some  are  neurotic,  or  insane,  or  suffer 
from  epilepsy.  Some  fail  in  only  one  special  kind  of 
work,  such  as  spelling,  arithmetic,  or  reading.  But 
the  most  important  single  factor  in  chronic  failure 
in  school  work  is  weakness  in  general  intelligence, 
usually  termed  mental  deficiency  or  feeble-minded- 
ness. 

In  the  last  decade,  since  Goddard  translated  the 
work  of  Binet,  and  introduced  the  use  of  his  measur- 
ing scale  at  Vineland,  psychological  examination  has 
shown  over  and  over  again  that  about  two  percent  of 
school  children  are  so  weak  mentally  as  to  be  inher- 
ently incapable  of  profiting  by  the  work  of  the  regu- 


SCIENTIFIC  STUDY  OP  MENTAL  DEFECTIVES     27 

lar  grades.  These  would  be  classified  as  definitely 
feeble-minded.  Just  a  little  higher  on  the  scale  we 
have  the  very  dull,  the  inferior,  the  stupid,  who  also 
tend  to  fall  behind  the  grade.  These  children  fail 
because  they  are  by  original  nature  incapable  of  do- 
ing what  the  average  child  can  do.  They  will  fail 
to  achieve  a  satisfactory  rating  in  the  pursuit  of  any 
curriculum  which  is  adapted  to  the  abilities  of  the 
majority. 

Educators  Should  Examine  the  Results  of  Various 
Mental  Surveys.  Among  the  first  of  these  surveys 
was  that  by  Dr.  Goddard.  He  measured  two  thou- 
sand school  children  by  a  standardized  test,  and 
found  that  about  two  percent  of  them  fell  so  far  be- 
low the  norms  for  the  group  that  it  was  unreasonable 
to  suppose  that  they  could  even  approximately  com- 
pete with  their  fellows  in  school  pursuits.  Dr. 
Terman  in  his  examination  of  one  thousand  unse- 
lected  school  children  arrived  at  substantially  the 
same  result.  Subsequent  surveys,  when  scientifically 
conducted,  have  verified  this  conclusion  repeatedly. 
Surveys  have  been  made,  it  is  true,  which  found 
less  than  one  percent  feeble-minded,  but  these  are 
the  work  of  untrained  examiners,  who  modified  the 
standard  tests  in  such  a  way  as  to  render  them  useless 
for  the  purpose,  or  who  improvised  methods  of  ex- 
amination, with  no  understanding  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  involved.  The  commonest  error 
of  amateur  investigators  is  that  they  unconsciously 


28      PSYCHOLOGY  0F  SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

modify  the  methods  of  psychological  examination  in 
such  a  way  as  materially  to  lower  the  norms  of  per- 
formance, and  thus  to  include  as  normal  many  feeble- 
minded children.  Where  the  scientific  methods  of 
identification  have  been  understood  and  used,  the  re- 
sult has  been  that  about  two  percent  of  school  chil- 
dren are  so  far  below  the  average  as  to  be  considered 
definitely  feeble-minded. 

It  should  be  added  that  when  selected  groups  are 
examined,  the  two  percent  for  the  school  population 
chosen  at  random  does  not  remain  fixed.  Dr.  Pyle, 
for  example,  has  found  that  in  the  rural  schools  of 
Missouri  the  percentage  is  greater  than  this.  In  pub- 
lic schools  which  are  located  in  high-class  residential 
districts  in  cities,  the  percentage  is  smaller.  The  two 
percent  holds  only  for  unselected  school  children. 

Mental  Deficiency  Leads  to  Truancy.  Under  our 
compulsory  school  laws  every  child  between  certain 
specified  ages,  usually  six  to  fourteen  years,  must  be 
in  school  if  physically  and  mentally  able  to  attend. 
So  far  as  mentality  is  concerned,  the  practical  effect 
of  the  law  is  that  all  children  above  the  grade  of  idiot 
come  to  school.  Thus  there  are  many  who  are  feeble- 
minded, who  are  by  nature  forever  incapable  of  at- 
taining to  the  level  of  performance  set  by  the  major- 
ity as  the  standard,  in  attendance  upon  the  public 
schools.  Furthermore,  it  is  in  many  schools  a  cus- 
tom, and  in  others  a  formal  rule,  that  no  child  may 
be  held  back  in  the  same  grade  more  than  two  years. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   MENTAL  .DEFECTIVES     29 

It  is  obvious  that  such  laws  and  rules  result  in  the 
misplacement  of  thousands  of  children,  so  far  as  their 
mental  ability  is  concerned.  Except  where  special 
classes  have  already  been  provided,  children  are 
placed  in  school  on  the  basis  of  chronology  rather 
than  on  the  basis  of  psychology.  Dr.  Terman, 
for  instance,  found  nine-year  mentality  scattered 
from  the  first  grade  to  the  seventh  grade,  and  twelve- 
year  mentality  scattered  from  the  third  grade  to  the 
eighth  grade  inclusive !  Such  findings  prove  that,  in 
general,  the  date  of  birth  of  a  child  is  a  very  potent 
factor  in  determining  his  school  status.  Terman  fur- 
ther found  that  dull  children  tend  to  be  graded  above 
their  true  intellectual  level,  while  bright  children 
tend  to  be  graded  below  the  point  where  they  are 
really  capable  of  functioning. 

From  these  facts  it  is  small  wonder  that  mental 
deficiency  and  truancy  are  closely  related  phenomena. 
The  deficient  child,  graded  two  or  three  years  above 
the  level  where  he  is  able  to  function,  understands 
little  or  nothing  of  what  is  presented  in  the  class- 
room. In  addition  to  this  source  of  maladjustment, 
it  often  is  the  case  that  such  a  child  is  placed  with 
much  younger  children,  even  though  still  above  his 
level,  —  as,  for  example,  a  thirteen-year-old,  with  a 
mental  age  of  seven  years,  in  the  fourth  grade.  From 
this  inappropriate  and  uncongenial  environment  the 
child  -very  naturally  desires  to  escape.  The  logical 
outcome  is  truancy. 


30      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

In  an  analysis  of  the  causes  of  truancy  in  New 
York  City,  Miss  Irwin  concluded  that  in  43  percent 
of  the  cases  which  were  studied  the  truant  was  defi- 
nitely not  of  normal  intellectual  capacity.  In  8 
percent  the  normality  of  the  truants  was  question- 
able. In  only  49  percent  of  cases  were  the  truants 
definitely  of  normal  intelligence. 

In  elaborating  the  results  of  her  study  this  inves- 
tigator says: 

"  One  falls  into  the  habit  of  regarding  truancy  as  the  out- 
cropping of  sin  or  vice,  as  something  abnormal  and  unnatural. 
Those  who  know  the  meaning  and  value  of  education  speak  as 
though  the  instinct  to  get  up  in  the  morning,  to  take  hat  and 
books  and  start  for  school,  was  as  natural  an  instinct  in  a  boy 
as  the  instinct  to  seek  food  and  warmth  in  a  young  puppy.  Aa 
a  matter  of  fact,  this  getting  up  at  a  regular  time,  starting  for  a 
regular  place  where  he  will  be  confined,  disciplined  and  made  to 
work,  and  to  do  this  day  after  day,  is  a  highly  evolved  activity  and 
the  result  of  training  upon  a  being  capable  of  assuming  responsi- 
bility. When  we  have  a  boy  who  is  feeble-minded  and  incapable 
of  assuming  responsibility,  and  a  home  that  is  defective  and  inca- 
pable of  training  to  regularity,  it  is  the  great  wonder  that  a  boy 
ever  goes  to  school  at  all.  .  .  .  The  one  recommendation  that  can 
strongly  be  made  as  a  result  of  this  study  is  that  a  thorough  and 
competent  psychological  and  physical  examination  be  made  of 
every  case  reported  for  truancy,  and  that  those  cases  found  to  be 
mentally  defective  shall  not  be  given  punitive  treatment  as  tru- 
ants, but  removed  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  compulsory  attend- 
ance department  entirely  and  educated  in  the  schools  or  in  in- 
stitutions as  feeble-minded  children.  This  would  decrease  the 
number  of  cases  to  be  handled,  and  immensely  increase  the 
possibilities  of  success  in  the  handling  of  the  normal  cases  by  the 
attendance  officers  and  truant  schools." 

Two  typical  cases  may  be  cited  from  this  report. 
The  general  picture  which  they  present  will  be  fa- 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   MENTAL   DEFECTIVES     31 

miliar  to  every  teacher  of  experience  in  the  regular 
grades  of  the  elementary  school. 

Case  No.  I  is  William  H .  He  is  14  years  10 

months  old,  and  his  mental  age  is  found  to  be  that 
of  a  child  of  9  years  4  months.  He  is  in  the  5B  grade 
in  school.  Thus  he  is  over  three  years  behind  the 
age-grade  norms  in  school,  and  is  nevertheless  graded 
above  his  real  intellectual  capacity.  A  mentality  of 
9  years  4  months  is  capable  of  performing  the  work 
of  grade  4A  in  New  York  City.  It  is  probable  that 
William  understands  very  little  of  what  is  presented 
in  the  schoolroom.  He  receives  low  marks,  fails 
chronically,  and  has  naturally  no  incentive  to  attend 
school.  His  intellectual  feebleness  is  illustrated  by 
the  fact  that  he  says  he  is  going  to  high  school  and 
college,  and  at  the  same  time  says  that  the  reason  he 
does  not  attend  school  now  is  that  "  school  is  too 
hard."  William  is  the  seventh  of  ten  children,  nine 
of  whom  are  living.  His  family  is  very  poor  and  in- 
efficient. 

Case  No.  II  is  John  A ,  aged  13  years  2  months. 

His  mental  age  is  9  years  2  months,  and  he  is  graded 
in  5B.  Thus  although  behind  the  norm  in  school 
status,  he  is,  nevertheless,  higher  than  he  should  be  in 
the  school.  His  mental  level  does  not  permit  him  to 
follow  the  work  of  grade  5B,  where  average  11-year- 
olds  are  found.  He  is  now  in  a  special  D  class  for 
conduct.  The  problem  in  school  discipline  is  that  he 
steals,  is  a  truant,  and  is  generally  troublesome  in 


32      PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

school.  He  has  a  brother,  also  a  truant  included  in 
this  study,  who  is  11  years  7  months  old,  with  a  men- 
tal level  of  7  years  6  months. 

The  Mentally  Defective  Child  Is  Frequently  a  Dis- 
ciplinary Problem.  Studies  of  juvenile  delinquents 
have  established  the  fact  that  anti-social  behavior  is 
very  often  explained  by  the  fact  that  the.  child  is  not 
as  able  as  are  average  children  to  perceive  social  situ- 
ations, to  realize  remote  consequences,  and  to  profit 
by  instruction.  A  large  percentage  of  incorrigibles 
are  feeble-minded. 

Dr.  Goddard  in  his  book,  The  Criminal  Imbecile, 
has  presented  in  detail  three  cases  of  serious  crimes 
perpetrated  by  mental  defectives  of  high  grade,  who 
had  never  been  recognized  for  what  they  really  were. 
These  cases  are  carefully  analyzed  from  the  psycho- 
logical point  of  view,  and  show  how  crime  originates 
when  the  intellect  is  too  inferior  to  act  as  a  deter- 
rent. Dr.  Healy  in  his  Individual  Delinquent  also 
provides  us  with  case  studies  of  children  and  ado- 
lescents, who  became  delinquent  on  the  basis  of  low 
intelligence. 

The  best  statistics  we  have  on  the  subject  of  the 
feeble-minded  child  as  a  disciplinary  problem,  aside 
from  the  case  of  truancy,  come  from  the  children's 
courts  and  from  reformatories.  Dr.  Ordahl  is 
among  those  who  have  presented  data  on  this  point. 
He  made  psychological  examinations  of  minor  de- 
linquents selected  at  random  in  the  Juvenile  Court 


SCIENTIFIC    STUDY   OP  MENTAL   DEFECTIVES     33 

of  San  Jose  in  1916,  and  found  45  percent  of  those 
examined  feeble-minded.  Included  in  this  study 
were  twelve  girls  and  twenty-one  boys.  "  The  of- 
fenses charged  against  the  boys  are  eight  cases  of  tru- 
ancy, five  of  stealing,  two  of  larceny,  one  of  forgery, 
one  of  begging  on  the  street,  one  of  stabbing,  while 
two  are  incorrigible  and  one  has  been  brought  to  the 
attention  of  the  court  because  he  has  not  been  able 
to  progress  at  school. 

"  Of  the  twelve  delinquent  girls  five  were  guilty  of 
active  immorality,  four  were  in  grave  danger  of  be- 
coming so  because  of  their  impulsive  tendencies  in 
that  direction,  while  two  have  been  brought  to  the 
attention  of  the  court  because  of  too  slow  progress  in 
school." 

Dr.  Kelley  studied  inmates  of  a  state  reformatory 
for  boys  in  Texas,  with  the  result  that  20  percent 
were  classified  by  him  as  definitely  feeble-minded. 
He  adds  that  "  probably  at  least  fifty  percent  of  de- 
linquents are  totally  incapable  of  being  taught  to 
look  after  themselves  in  an  environment  as  unfavor- 
able as  the  one  from  which  they  came." 

The  psychologists  of  the  Preston  School  of  Indus- 
try, at  lone,  California,  find  between  30  and  35  per- 
cent of  the  boys  committed  there  for  delinquencies  to 
be  definitely  feeble-minded,  and  classify  a  large  pro- 
portion, in  addition,  as  of  border-line  intelligence. 
A  very  small  minority  of  their  cases  are  described  as 
of  fully  normal  ability.  The  offenses  committed  by 


34     PSYCHOLOGY   OP   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

these  subnormal  boys  were  murder,  assault,  sex 
crimes,  burglary,  robbery,  automobile  thefts,  forgery, 
incorrigibility,  petty  stealing,  and  vagrancy. 

The  report  of  the  Psychopathic  Clinic  connected 
with  the  Juvenile  Court  in  New  York  City  shows  a 
similar  state  of  affairs.  Large  numbers  of  the 
children  examined  on  this  clinic  are  of  subnormal  in- 
telligence. In  the  year  1915  a  study  was  made  of 
463  children,  who  were  sent  from  the  Juvenile  Courts 
of  New  York  City  to  The  Clearing  House  for  Mental 
Defectives,  for  mental  examination.  Many  forms 
of  mental  deviation  were  found  among  these  children, 
but  the  most  frequent  form  of  deviation  was  intel- 
lectual deficiency.  About  half  of  them  were  so  in- 
ferior as  to  be  definitely  classifiable  as  feeble-minded, 
while  a  great  many  more  were  of  "  border-line  "  in- 
telligence. These  children  presented  disciplinary 
problems  of  kinds  which  will  be  indicated  by  the 
charges  on  which  they  were  arraigned :  theft  and  ac- 
complice in  burglary,  truancy,  sexual  misbehavior, 
general  incorrigibility,  disorderly  conduct  (cursing, 
throwing  stones,  etc.),  fighting,  assault,  associating 
with  vile  and  vicious  persons,  murder  and  attempted 
murder,  vagrancy,  intoxication,  arson,  begging,  ped- 
dling without  a  license,  destroying  property,  taking 
and  procuring  drugs,  violating  child  labor  laws,  and 
being  "  an  intolerable  nuisance." 

It  is  necessary  to  say  a  word  here  as  to  just  what 
inferences  we  may  draw  from  the  statistics  of  reform- 


SCIENTIFIC  STUDY  OF  MENTAL  DEFECTIVES      35 

atories  and  juvenile  courts.  We  find  that  a  very 
large  percentage  of  children  examined  in  these  places 
are  feeble-minded.  Is  it  permissible  to  conclude  that 
the  same  proportion  holds  for  all  delinquents?  The 
answer  is,  No;  for  we  are  dealing  here  with  a 
selected  group  of  delinquents,  —  those  who  were 
caught.  We  are  dealing  with  those  who  have  been 
unsuccessful  in  delinquency,  and  among  these 
we  shall  expect  to  find  a  larger  percentage  of  the 
stupid  than  we  should  find  among  unselected  mis- 
demeanants. 

Bearing  all  these  facts  in  mind,  we  know  neverthe- 
less that  a  very  large  proportion  of  delinquency 
among  both  children  and  adults  is  due  to  intellectual 
deficiency.  Thus  the  study  of  subnormal  children 
will  contribute  in  a  very  important  way  to  the  solu- 
tion of  the  disciplinary  problems  of  the  school,  which 
have  always  taken  so  much  of  the  time  and  strength 
of  teachers. 

The  Reasons  for  Studying  Subnormal  Children 
Are,  Therefore,  Very  Numerous.  Such  study  is  in- 
separably bound  up  with  the  educational  problems 
of  retardation,  elimination,  truancy,  and  delin- 
quency. It  is  inseparably  connected  with  the  social 
problems  of  crime,  alcoholism,  illegitimacy,  prosti- 
tution, unemployment,  and  pauperism.  The  iden- 
tification of  the  subnormal  while  they  are  children, 
and  the  wise  adjustment  of  them  to  the  social  and 
economic  life  of  the  community  is  a  task  which 


36     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

school  systems  must  in   the   future   undertake  in 
much  greater  measure  than  they  do  at  present. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Ayres,    L.    P.,    Laggards    in   Our   Schools.    Russell   Sage 
Foundation.    New  York.    1909. 

2.  California  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Corrections.    Sur- 
veys in  Mental  Deviation.    Sacramento.    1918. 

3.  Crafts,  L.  W.,  Bibliography  of  Feeble-Mindedness  in  its 
Social  Aspects.    Journal  of  Psycho-Asthenics.    Monograph  Sup- 
plement.   1917. 

4.  Glueck,  B.,  A  Study  of  608  Admissions  to  Sing  Sing  Prison. 
Mental  Hygiene.    Jan.,  1918. 

5.  Irwin,    E.    A.,    Truancy.    Public    Education    Association. 
New  York.    1915. 

6.  Johnson,  G.  R.,  Unemployment  and  Feeble-Mindedness. 
Journal  of  Delinquency.    March,  1917. 

7.  Kelley,  T.  L.,  Mental  Aspects  of  Delinquency.    Univer- 
sity of  Texas  Bulletin,  No.  1713.    Austin.    1917. 

8.  Murphy,    J.    P.,     Illegitimacy     and     Feeble-Mindedness. 
Mental  Hygiene.    Oct.,  1917. 

9.  Montague,  H.,  Report  of  the  Psychopathic  Clinic  of  the 
Children's  Court.    New  York.    1918. 

10.  Ordahl,   G.,   Mental  Defectives  and  the  Juvenile   Court. 
Journal  of  Delinquency.    Jan.,  1917. 

11.  Paddon,  M.  E.,  A  Study  of  Fifty  Feeble-Minded  Prosti- 
tutes.   Journal  of  Delinquency.    Jan.,  1918. 

12.  Poull,  L.,  The  Mental  Status  of  Truants.    Ungraded.  Oct., 
1919. 

13.  Pyle,  W.  H.,  and  Collings,  P.  E.,  The  Mental  and  Physical 
Development  of  Rural  Children.    School  'and  Society.    Nov.  2, 
1918. 

14.  Report  of  the  State  Commission  of  Prisons.    Albany,  New 
York.    1918. 

15.  Report  of  the  Portland  Vice  Commission.    Portland,  Ore- 
gon.   1912. 

16.  Schlapp,  M.  G.,  and  Hollingworth,  L.  S.,  The  Mentally 
Defective  as  Cases  in  the  Courts  of  New  York  City.    Medical 
Record.    Feb.,  1915. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY    OF   MENTAL   DEFECTIVES     37 

17.  Stenquist,  J.  L.,  Thorndike,  E.  L.,  and  Trabue,   M.  R., 
The  Intellectual  Status  of  Children  Who  Are  Public   Charges. 
Archives  of  Psychology.    1915. 

18.  Toops,  H.  A.,  and  Pintner,  R.,  Mentality  in  its  Relation  to 
Elimination  from  School.    School  and  Society.    April,  1918. 

19.  Weidensall,  J.,  The  Mentality  of  the  Unmarried  Mother. 
National  Conference  of  Social  Work.    No.  124.    Chicago.    1917. 

20.  Williams,  J.  H.,  Exceptional  Children  in  the  Schools  of 
Santa  Ana,  California.    Whittier  State  School.    California.    1918. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE   DEFINITION   OF    MENTAL  DEFICIENCY 

Terminology.  Many  different  words  are  used  to 
designate  those  who  are  subnormal  in  intelligence. 
Mental  defectives,  aments,  the  feeble-minded,  the 
mentally  deficient,  the  very  inferior,  the  subnormal 
are  all  terms  in  common  use  to-day.  All  are  used 
to  designate  those  members  of  the  human  species  who 
fall  into  the  lowest  two  or  three  percent  on  the  scale 
of  distribution  for  intelligence.  All  are  used  in  this 
discussion,  being  employed  interchangeably,  as  they 
are  synonymous. 

Many  other  terms  have  also  been  used,  which  are 
not  employed  here,  because  their  application  is  very 
inexact  or  ambiguous.  Such  terms  are  "  exceptional 
children,"  "atypical  children,"  "backward  chil- 
.dren,"  "  abnormal  children,"  "  retarded  children." 
Some  of  these  terms  are  very  useful  in  situations  re- 
quiring tact,  in  which  too  great  bluntness  would  be 
offensive  to  human  sentiment,  and  have  been  in- 
vented for  just  this  purpose.  However,  in  a  scien- 
tific treatise  on  the  subject  ambiguity  and  vagueness 
are  out  of  place.  It  is  true  certainly  that  children 
who  are  subnormal  intellectually  are  "  exceptional " 

38 


THE   DEFINITION   OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY    39 

and  are  "  atypical,"  but  these  words  describe  equally 
well  the  insane,  the  very  gifted,  those  afflicted  with 
special  disabilities,  and  any  and  all  who  deviate  in 
any  respect  from  the  usual.  "  Abnormal "  is  open 
to  the  same  objection,  with  the  added  objection  that 
it  carries  with  it  the  idea  of  a  pathological  disturb- 
ance. "  Backward  "  and  "  retarded  "  vaguely  and 
erroneously  imply  that  the  condition  is  one  which 
will  disappear  with  time,  that  the  child  is  temporarily 
behind  in  his  development,  but  may  be  expected  to 
"  catch  up  "  eventually.  In  a  scientific  treatise  all 
euphemisms  are  inappropriate. 

Even  those  terms  which  are  here  employed  to  des- 
ignate the  intellectually  subnormal,  —  mental  de- 
fectives, aments,  the  feeble-minded,  the  mentally  de- 
ficient, the  very  inferior,  the  subnormal,  —  are  less 
exact  than  we  could  wish.  "  Mental  "  and  "  mind," 
for  instance,  are  properly  terms  which  include  much 
more  than  the  intelligence.  Thus,  strictly  speaking, 
one  who  is  deficient  in  emotion  or  in  volition  may  be 
referred  to  as  "  mentally  deficient "  or  "  mentally 
defective,"  though  he  be  of  normal  intelligence. 

This  struggle  for  definite  and  satisfactory  terms 
is  the  bane  of  all  who  undertake  to  discuss  a  part  of 
a  continuous  distribution,  which  is  not  marked  off  by 
any  distinct  feature.  What  is  to  define  the  difference 
between  the  individuals  to  be  included  in  the  discus- 
sion, and  the  individuals  just  barely  not  to  be  in- 
cluded in  the  discussion?  The  fact  is  that  no  such 


40      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

definition  is  possible,  except  on  arbitrary  and  artificial 
grounds.  When  the  present  volume  has  been  stud- 
ied through,  it  will  be  apparent  that  the  only  entirely 
satisfactory  practice  would  be  to  speak  of  individuals 
simply  in  terms  of  the  IQ  (intelligence  quotient), 
without  introducing  words  which  convey  the  idea  of 
a  distinct  entity. 

Nevertheless,  when  words  are  currently  in  use  to 
communicate  certain  ideas,  it  is  not  permissible  to 
ignore  or  change  them  suddenly.  Therefore,  the 
words  in  common  use  which  are  least  ambiguous,  are 
here  employed  to  designate  those  who  are  very  far 
below  the  norms  in  general  intelligence.  These 
terms  are  mental  defectives,  aments,  the  feeble- 
minded, the  mentally  deficient,  the  very  inferior, 
and  the  subnormal. 

Early  Definitions  of  Mental  Deficiency.  In  the 
first  chapter  of  this  book  we  set  out  to  answer  the 
question,  What  is  a  subnormal  child?  In  other 
words,  What  constitutes  mental  deficiency?  It  will 
be  of  interest  to  consider  some  of  the  early  defini- 
tions of  feeble-mindedness  or  "  idiocy/'  as  it  was 
called.  These  definitions  will  show  us  the  confusion 
of  thought  which  formerly  existed  in  respect  to  the 
matter,  as  well  as  what  were  the  concepts  of  mental 
deficiency  historically  held. 

Lord  Coke,  an  ancient  jurist,  says,  "  An  idiot,  or 
natural  born  fool,  is  one  who  from  his  nativity,  by 
perpetual  infirmity,  is  non  compos  mentis."  Old 


THE   DEFINITION   OF  MENTAL   DEFICIENCY    41 

English  Law  defines  an  idiot  as  a  person  of  non-sane 
memory.  "  It  is  sufficient  to  find  him  so  if  he  has 
not  any  use  of  reason ;  as  if  he  cannot  count  20  pence, 
or  if  he  has  not  understanding  to  tell  his  age,  or  who 
is  his  father  or  mother."  Blackstone  says,  "  An 
idiot,  or  natural  born  fool,  is  one  that  hath  no  under- 
standing from  his  nativity,  and  is  therefore  by  law 
presumed  never  likely  to  attain  any." 

These  are  all  legal  definitions,  founded  on  the 
practical  necessity  of  determining  responsibility  for 
crime,  or  capacity  for  undertaking  the  administra- 
tion of  property.  By  the  time  property  was  firmly 
established,  and  crime  was  punished  by  court  pro- 
cedure, it  was  recognized  that  there  are  persons  so 
deficient  in  general  ability  that  they  ought  not  to  be 
punished  for  their  sins  as  others  should  be,  and  that 
they  cannot  manage  their  property.  Thus  a  legal 
definition  had  to  be  formulated.  These  legal  defini- 
tions included,  as  we  now  know,  only  the  lowest 
grade  of  mental  defectives. 

As  we  have  early  legal  definitions,  so  we  have  early 
medical  definitions.  Sylvius  Delboe  *  writes,  "  Even 
the  condition  of  many  stupid  men  is  to  be  designated 
sickness,  whereby  they  are  not  able  to  reason  nor  to 
recognize  cause  and  effect."  Willis2  declared  that 
"  Idiocy  and  stupidity  depend  on  a  lack  of  judgment 
and  intelligence,  the  actual  rational  mind  being  not 
concerned ;  the  brain  is  the  seat  of  the  sickness,  which 

1  Opera  Medic-a,  1677.  2  De  Anima  Brutorum,  1678. 


42     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

rests  on  a  lack  of  imagination  and  memory,  the  seat 
of  which  is  in  the  brain.  The  imagination  is  located 
in  the  corpus  callosum,  or  the  white  substance;  the 
memory  in  the  cortical  substance.  So  if  imbecility 
or  stupidity  arises,  the  cause  is  in  the  brain  region 
involved,  or  in  the  animal  spirits,  or  in  both." 

Furthermore,  there  is  the  ecclesiastical  definition 
of  mental  deficiency,  whereby  it  is  looked  upon  as  the 
work  of  spirits.  Heinroth  *  wrote,  "  Where  Satan  is 
there  is  weakness,  darkness,  hatred  and  destruction 
everywhere.  An  evil  spirit  abides,  therefore,  in  the 
mentally  deranged;  they  are  the  truly  possessed." 
According  to  other  ecclesiastical  versions,  the  idiot 
was  blessed,  and  under  the  care  of  good  spirits. 

As  early  as  1834  the  psychological  definition  ap- 
peared. Herbart 2  said,  "  Idiocy  and  imbecility, 
which  alone  of  all  the  mental  disorders  appears  to 
be  inborn,  and  which  —  as  the  opposite  extreme  of 
genius,  is  general  weakness  of  the  mind,  —  does  not 
differ  so  much  in  quality  as  in  degree,  and  may  go  so 
far  that  the  man  almost  resembles  a  plant,  but  as 
such  grows  and  is  healthy." 

The  Various  Modern  Criteria  of  Mental  Defi- 
ciency. In  more  recent  years  definitions  of  mental 
deficiency  have  been  based  on  social  and  economic 
success;  on  school  progress;  on  physical  traits;  and 
on  psychological  tests.  We  may  for  convenience 

1  Lehrbuch  der  Storungen  des  Seelenlebens,  1818. 
2Lehrbuch  der  Psychologic,  2nd  edition,  1834. 


THE    DEFINITION   OF   MENTAL   DEFICIENCY     43 

refer  therefore  to  (1)  the  social-economic  criterion, 
(2)  the  pedagogical  criterion,  (3)  the  medical  cri- 
terion, and  (4)  the  psychological  criterion. 

The  Social-Economic  Criterion.  The  Royal  Com- 
mission of  Great  Britain,  which  investigated  the 
question  of  mental  deficiency  in  1904,  adopted  a  defi- 
nition of  mental  deficiency  which  was  based  wholly 
on  economic  and  social  adjustment.  This  was  as 
follows : 

"  A  feeble-minded  person  is  one  who  is  capable  of  earning  a 
living  under  favorable  circumstances,  but  is  incapable,  from  men- 
tal defect  existing  from  birth,  or  from  an  early  age,  (a)  of  compet- 
ing on  equal  terms  with  his  normal  fellows;  or  (b)  of  managing 
himself  and  his  affairs  with  ordinary  prudence." 

Following  this  standard,  the  Mental  Deficiency 
Act  of  1913  in  England  classified  mental  defectives 
thus.  (The  highest  grade,  called  in  this  country 
morons,  are  termed  in  England  "the  feeble- 
minded.") 

"  The  feeble-minded  are  persons  in  whose  .case  there  exists  from 
birth  or  from  an  early  age  mental  defectiveness  not  amounting 
to  imbecility,  yet  so  pronounced  that  they  require  care,  super- 
vision, and  control  for  their  own  protection  or  for  the  protection 
.of  others,  or,  in  the  case  of  children,  that  they  by  reason  of  such 
defectiveness,  appear  to  be  permanently  incapable  of  receiving 
proper  benefit  from  the  instruction  in  ordinary  schools. 

"  Imbeciles  are  persons  in  whose  case  there  exists  from  birth  or 
from  an  early  age  mental  defectiveness  not  amounting  to  idiocy, 
yet  so  pronounced  that  they  are  incapable  of  managing  them- 
selves or  their  affairs,  or,  in  the  case  of  children,  of  being  taught 
to  do  so. 

"  Idiots  are  persons  so  deeply  defective  in  mind  from  birth, 
or  from  an  early  age,  as  to  be  unable  to  guard  themselves  against 
common  physical  dangers." 


44      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

The  chief  objection  to  social-economic  adaptability 
as  the  final  criterion  of  mental  deficiency  is  that  it 
does  not  apply  equally  to  all  individuals  under  all 
circumstances.  It  is  always  a  relative,  never  an  ab- 
solute standard.  Judged  by  it,  an  individual  who 
is  normal  in  a  simple  rural  community  might  be 
feeble-minded  in  the  complex  environment  of  the 
city;  a  woman  of  a  certain  mental  capacity  might 
easily  pass  as  normal,  while  a  man  of  the  same  intel- 
lectual quality  would  be  considered  an  imbecile;  -the 
heir  to  wealth  might  seem  to  be  of  ordinary  intelli- 
gence, whereas  a  penniless  individual  of  the  same 
caliber  might  not  be  able  to  maintain  himself  in  the 
social  milieu. 

A  scientific  definition  of  mental  deficiency  will  be 
one  which  will  apply  to  the  individual  no  matter 
what  the  external  circumstances  which  surround  him, 
and  regardless  of  sex.  Let  us  examine  other  criteria 
which  have  been  used  or  proposed. 

The  Pedagogical  Criterion.  Certain  communities 
have  passed  rulings  that  every  child  who  is  three  or 
more  years  behind  the  grade  proper  to  his  years  shall 
be  examined  psychologically,  and  if  found  to  be  in- 
tellectually deficient,  shall  be  transferred  to  a  special 
class.  Two  decades  ago,  before  psychology  had  ad- 
vanced to  a  point  where  it  could  be  applied  to  the 
problem,  the  pedagogical  criterion  alone  was  applied 
to  determine  whether  or  not  a  child  should  be  placed 
in  a  special  class.  Let  us  see  why  it  is  that  the  ped- 


THE   DEFINITION   OF   MENTAL   DEFICIENCY    45 

agogical  criterion  of  failure  to  progress  in  school  is 
not  in  itself  sufficient. 

If  we  were  to  rely  upon  the  fact  that  a  child 
is  three  or  more  years  retarded  in  school  status,  and 
upon  this  only,  what  kinds  of  mistakes  would  be 
made?  We  have  already  emphasized  the  fact  that 
children  are  retarded  in  school  for  a  great  va- 
riety of  reasons,  of  which  lack  of  general  intelli- 
gence is  but  one.  If  we  defined  a  feeble-minded 
child  as  one  who  is  three  or  more  years  retarded  in 
school  status,  we  should  include  improperly  within 
our  definition  many  who  are  physically  ill,  many 
who  have  had  the  misfortune  to  be  out  of  school  for 
various  reasons,  many  who  suffer  from  sensory  de- 
fects, many  who  have  some  special  disability  in  a 
school  subject  such  as  reading  or  arithmetic,  many 
with  severe  speech  defects,  and  many  insane,  neur- 
otic, and  epileptic  children.  All  of  these  conditions 
may  lead  to  serious  retardation  in  school  status, 
though  general  intelligence  may  be  normal.  Also 
there  would  be  included  children  who  are  deteriorat- 
ing mentally  from  organic  diseases  of  the  nervous  sys- 
tem, and  who  must  be  differentiated  carefully  from 
those  whose  defect  is  original,  as  the  course  of  their 
subsequent  development  is  very  different.  The  ped- 
agogical criterion  alone  is  thus  highly  unsatisfactory. 

The  Medical  Criterion.  There  have  been  various 
attempts  by  medical  men  to  formulate  definitions  of 
mental  deficiency.  Voisin  says:  "  The  idiot  is  an  in- 


46      PSYCHOLOGY   OP   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

dividual  whose  intellectual,  sensory  and  motor  fa- 
culties are  not  developed,  or  are  abnormally  devel- 
oped in  a  defective  manner  or  are  arrested  in  their 
evolution  before  or  some  years  after  birth,  to  a  de- 
gree which  they  can  not  overcome  in  consequence  of 
chronic  lesions  of  the  brain."  Ireland's  definition  is 
as  follows:  "  Idiocy  is  mental  deficiency  or  extreme 
stupidity,  depending  upon  mal-nutrition  or  disease 
of  the  nervous  centers,  occurring  either  before  birth 
or  before  the  evolution  of  the  mental  faculties  in. 
childhood."  Bourneville  says,  "  Idiocy  consists  of 
the  arrested  development,  either  congenital  or  ac- 
quired, of  the  intellectual,  moral  and  emotional  facul- 
ties, which  may  or  may  not  be  accompanied  by  motor 
difficulties  and  perversions  of  instinct." 

In  general,  medical  definitions  have  been  based  on 
the  assumption  that  mental  deficiency  is  analogous 
to  physical  disease  in  its  nature,  and  have  sought  to 
describe  in  the  defective  person  some  symptom  or 
condition  that  would  differentiate  him  clearly  from 
the  normal.  There  is  also  noticeable  a  tendency  to 
define  in  terms  of  a  hypothetical  underlying  physio- 
logical cause.  Combined  with  this  we  find  recogni- 
tion of  the  importance  of  social,  economic,  and  scho- 
lastic behavior.  In  general,  we  may  say  that  the 
medical  criterion  is  largely  the  social-economic  cri- 
terion, with  a  special  emphasis  on  the  description  of 
clinical  features,  or  of  stigmata,  if  any  are  present. 
In  fact,  the  medical  profession  has  interested  itself 


THE   DEFINITION  •  OF  MENTAL   DEFICIENCY    47 

chiefly  in  the  so-called  secondary  conditions,  which 
Dr.  Tredgold  describes  at  length,  and  with  the  clini- 
cal varieties  of  idiocy  and  imbecility,  such  as  cretin- 
ism, mongolianism,  hydrocephalus,  microcephalus, 
syphilitic  amentia,  and  epileptic  amentia.  Dr.  Tred- 
gold's  excellent  treatise  is  devoted  almost  exclusively 
to  these  conditions,  though  it  is  true  that  a  very  small 
proportion  of  the  feeble-minded  are  included  under 
them. 

In  formulating  a  definition  of  mental  deficiency, 
Dr.  Tredgold,  who  is  the  most  authoritative  of  mod- 
ern medical  writers  on  the  subject,  says,  "  The  con- 
dition is  a  psychological  one,  although  the  criterion 
is  a  social  one,  and  we  may  accordingly  define  amen- 
tia as  a  state  of  restricted  potentiality  for,  or  arrest 
of,  cerebral  development,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  person  affected  is  incapable  at  maturity  of  so 
adapting  himself  to  his  environment  or  to  the  re- 
quirements of  the  community  as  to  maintain  exist- 
ence independently  of  external  support." 

The  chief  objections  to  the  medical  criterion,  and 
to  its  application  in  diagnosing  mental  deficiency,  are 
well  stated  by  Binet,  the  French  psychologist,  thus: 

"  Each  one  according  to  his  own  fancy,  fixes  the  boundary 
line  separating  these  states.  It  is  in  regard  to  the  facts  that  the 
doctors  disagree.  In  looking  closely,  one  can  see  that  the  con- 
fusion comes  principally  from  a  fault  in  the  method  of  examina- 
tion. When  an  alienist  finds  himself  in  the  presence  of  a  child 
of  inferior  intelligence,  he  does  not  examine  him  by  bringing  out 
each  of  the  symptoms  which  the  child  manifests,  and  by  inter- 
preting all  symptoms  and  classifying  them;  he  contents  himself 


48     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

with  taking  a  subjective  impression  as  a  whole,  of  his  subject,  and 
of  making  his  diagnosis  by  instinct.  We  do  not  think  we  are 
going  too  far  in  saying  that  at  the  present  time  very  few  physi- 
cians would  be  able  to  cite  with  absolute  precision  the  objective 
and  invariable  sign,  or  signs,  by  which  they  distinguish  the  de- 
grees of  inferior  mentality." 

Concerning  these  objections  Binet  further  says, 
"  We  have  abundant  proof  of  this  in  the  strikingly 
divergent  medical  diagnoses  made  only  a  few  days 
apart  by  different  alienists  upon  the  same  patient." 

The  inadequacies  of  the  medical  criterion  arise 
naturally  from  the  fact  that  those  formulating  it 
have  been  trained  in  the  diagnosis  and  treatment  of 
physical  disorder,  and  when  confronted  with  a  men- 
tal condition  can  reason  only  from  analogy  with  what 
they  have  learned  of  physical  states.  The  medical 
curriculum  does  not,  in  the  United  States  at  least, 
include  instruction  in  psychology. 

The  Psychological  Criterion.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
comment  further  upon  the  confusions  of  thought 
arising  out  of  attempts  to  apply  the  criteria  which  we 
have  described.  In  1904  it  was  decided  to  segregate 
for  special  instruction  all  of  the  mentally  defective 
children  in  the  schools  of  Paris.  The  professional 
advice  of  Alfred  Binet,  Professor  of  Psychology  in  the 
University  of  Paris,  was  sought.  Upon  the  request 
of  the  appointed  Commission,  Binet  undertook  to 
provide  a  psychological  criterion  of  mental  deficiency, 
upon  the  basis  of  which  the  children  could  be  scien- 
tifically selected. 


THE   DEFINITION   OF  MENTAL   DEFICIENCY    49 

The  diagnosis  of  feeble-mindedness  evidently  rests 
upon  the  determination  of  intellectual  status,  in  the 
first  place.  No  matter  what  may  be  the  educational, 
social,  or  economic  maladjustments  of  the  individual, 
no  matter  what  may  be  the  number  of  his  physical 
stigmata  or  his  clinical  features,  if  his  general  intelli- 
gence is  normal,  he  is  not  feeble-minded.  Thus  the 
first  problem  in  the  psychological  determination  of 
mental  deficiency  was  the  problem  of  measuring 
general  intelligence. 

It  would  take  us  too  far  afield  from  the  im- 
mediate purposes  of  this  book  to  discuss  the  tech- 
nicalities involved  in  this  problem  of  measuring 
intelligence.  Binet  and  other  psychologists  had  for 
many  years  been  working  upon  mental  tests.  It  oc- 
curred to  Binet  to  formulate  a  series  of  tests,  in  a 
manner  which  will  be  more  fully  described  in  a  subse- 
quent chapter.  By  his  method  Binet  succeeded  in 
obtaining  a  quantitative  measure  of  general  intelli- 
gence, which  would  apply  to  all  native  school  chil- 
dren, of  normal  sensory  capacity.  The  unit  of  meas- 
urement was  "  mental  age,"  which  has  now  come 
to  be  a  familiar  term  among  educators. 

Thus  was  the  psychological  criterion  of  mental  de- 
ficiency for  the  first  time  established.  It  is  neces- 
sary, however,  to  take  further  steps,  since  there  is  a 
difference  between  feeble-mindedness  and  dementia, 
which  is  not  always  revealed  by  the  measurement  of 
intelligence  alone.  Demented  persons  also  register 


50     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

low  in  intellectual  status,  but  their  condition  differs 
essentially  from  that  of  the  feeble-minded  in  origin, 
in  outcome,  and  in  treatment. 

To  one  skilled  in  the  practice  of  abnormal  psychol- 
ogy, the  differential  diagnosis  between  dementia  and 
feeble-mindedness  is  usually  not  difficult.  The  past 
history  of  the  individual  is  of  fundamental  impor- 
tance, as  are  neurological  and  physical  symptoms. 
Qualitative  differences  also  appear  in  the  direct  ex- 
amination of  the  intelligence,  as  Binet,  and  later 
Pressey,  have  demonstrated  in  their  experimental 
work  with  dements. 

In  any  scientific  study  of  the  psychology  of  sub- 
normal children  it  is  necessary  to  keep  such  distinc- 
tions clearly  in  mind.  Persons  who  have  made  no 
study  of  the  subject  do  not  usually  distinguish  be- 
tween feeble-mindedness  and  other  kinds  of  mental 
deviation.  They  speak  of  an  imbecile  as  "  a  crazy 
boy,"  and  say  of  an  insane  man,  "  So-and-so  is  becom- 
ing feeble-minded."  They  refer  indiscriminately  to 
all  abnormal  persons  as  "  silly,"  "  out  of  their  heads," 
"  half-witted,"  and  "  weak-minded."  Teachers,  how- 
ever, must  bear  in  mind  that  there  are  distinctions; 
that  a  feeble-minded  child  is  one  who  never  had  a 
normal  mental  capacity,  whereas  an  insane  or  de- 
mented child  is  one  who  has  at  a  former  time  been 
gifted  with  greater  mental  capacity  than  that  which 
characterizes  him  subsequently.  The  feeble-minded 
child  is  a  proper  subject  for  educational  treatment. 


THE  DEFINITION  OP  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     51 

His  condition  can  be  improved  by  instruction, 
whereas  demented  and  insane  children  are  usually 
not  to  be  considered  for  retention  in  public  school 
classes. 

The  psychological  criteria  having  been  established, 
definitions  of  mental  deficiency  began  to  be  formu- 
lated on  a  psychological  basis.  The  somewhat  awk- 
ward definition  based  on  the  earlier  work  with  graded 
intelligence  tests  was  substantially  as  follows:  Chil- 
dren who  show  a  mental  retardation  of  two  or  more 
years,  below  and  including  the  chronological  age  of 
9  years ;  and  three  or  more  years  of  mental  retarda- 
tion above  the  chronological  age  of  9  years;  and 
adults  who  grade  at  or  below  a  mental  age  of  12 
years,  and  who  are  not  demented,  are  to  be  considered 
technically  defective. 

Since  the  work  of  Terman  and  his  collaborators, 
another  definition  is  now  replacing  this  unwieldy  one. 
This  is  based  on  the  use  of  the  intelligence  quotient 
(to  be  explained  in  a  subsequent  chapter),  and  upon 
the  percentage  of  the  total  range  of  intellect,  which 
is  found  by  measurement  to  include  all  who  fall  be- 
low a  given  status.  The  final  definition  is,  to  be 
exact,  based  on  a  combination  of  psychological  meas- 
urement and  social  fact.  The  result  of  the  research 
of  the  past  decade  is  that  individuals  who  grade  be- 
low 70  IQ  are  never  found  to  be  capable  of  satisfac- 
tory independent  adjustment  to  school  or  to  social 
environment.  They  cannot  even  approximate  the 


52     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

performance  of  their  fellows.  Dr.  Terman  found 
that  two  percent  of  his  unselected  school  chil- 
dren graded  at  or  below  73  IQ.  If  we  include  in  our 
estimate  the  idiots  and  very  low  grade  imbeciles,  who 
would  have  been  found  among  a  thousand  unselected 
children  (though  not  among  a  thousand  unselected 
school  children),  we  should  have  about  two  percent 
of  mental  defectives.  This  is  what  we  should  expect 
on  the  basis  of  all  the  known  facts  about  individual 
differences.  We  should  expect  that  about  two  per- 
cent of  all  individuals  belonging  to  our  species 
would  vary  so  far  from  the  average,  as  to  be  unfitted 
to  meet  the  ordinary  exigencies  of  life. 

We  are  now  tending  toward  this  definition:  a 
feeble-minded  person  is  one  who  has  originally  an 
intelligence  quotient  of  70  percent  or  less,  and 
whose  status  falls  in  the  lowest  two  percent  of  human 
intellect. 

The  Classification  of  Mental  Defectives.  Much 
confusion  of  thought  has  also  existed  in  past  times  in 
the  matter  of  classifying  the  feeble-minded.  At  first 
the  feeble-minded  were  not  differentiated  at  all,  all 
defectives  being  referred  to  indiscriminately  as  idiots. 
Then  it  was  noticed  by  those  observing  them,  that  all 
defectives  were  not  equally  defective,  and  various  at- 
tempts to  group  them  into  two  or  three  categories 
were  made.  Such  classifications  have  been  attempted 
on  the  basis  of  speech,  of  physiological  condition,  of 
sensori-motor  activities,  and  on  the  amount  and  kind 


THE   DEFINITION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     53 

of  care  needed.  Thus  Esquirol,  a  medical  writer,  has 
classified  the  defective  into  (1)  those  using  short 
phrases;  (2)  those  using  monosyllables;  and  (3) 
those  making  inarticulate  sounds.  Another  classifi- 
cation according  to  speech  was  by  Howe :  ( 1 )  simple- 
tons, those  using  simple  sentences;  (2)  fools,  those 
using  simple  words;  and  (3)  idiots,  those  using 
simple  sounds. 

Seguin  classified  according  to  what  he  conceived 
to  be  the  physiological  condition,  into  (1)  profound 
idiocy,  the  central  nervous  system  affected;  and  (2) 
superficial  idiocy,  the  terminal  organs  affected. 

Barr  attempted  a  classification  on  the  basis  of  kind 
and  amount  of  care  needed:  (1)  asylum  care,  pro- 
found idiots,  superficial  idiots,  and  idio-imbeciles ; 
(2)  custodial  life,  moral  imbeciles;  (3)  apprentice- 
ship and  colony  life,  imbeciles;  (4)  trained  for  a 
place  in  the  world,  backward  or  mentally  feeble. 

At  the  present  time  the  feeble-minded  are  classi- 
fied on  a  psychological  basis  as  idiots,  imbeciles,  and 
morons.  The  words  refer  to  the  mental  status  of  the 
individual.  In  terms  of  the  IQ,  idiots  grade  roughly 
from  0  to  20,  imbeciles  from  20  to  40,  and  morons 
from  40  to  70.  Imbeciles  and  morons  are  in  turn 
subdivided  into  low-grade,  mid-grade,  and  high- 
grade.  Thus  we  often. hear  the  term  "high-grade 
imbecile,"  "  low-grade  moron,"  etc. 

These  terms  are  in  general  use  to-day,  but  it  would 
really  be  far  better  and  more  scientific  if  we  were  to 


54     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

cease  from  using  them,  as  they  create  artificial  dis- 
tinctions in  the  popular  mind.  It  would  be  better  to 
speak  of  persons  of  weak  intellect  simply  in  terms 
of  their  IQ.  Thus,  in  practice,  we  should  speak  of  a 
defective  child  as  having  an  intelligence  quotient  of 
50,  or  58,  or  67,  instead  of  labelling  him  imbecile  or 
moron,  as  we  now  do.  If  it  were  accepted  usage  to 
refer  to  children  simply  in  terms  of  the  intelligence 
quotient,  we  should  clear  up  those  difficulties  of  par- 
ents who  go  about  from  clinic  to  clinic,  finding  that 
their  child  is  called  a  high-grade  imbecile  in  one  place, 
and  a  low-grade  moron  in  another ;  and  trying  to  find 
out  exactly  what  constitutes  the  difference  between 
them,  and  which  the  child  really  is.  It  is  often  im- 
possible to  classify  a  child  as  one  or  the  other.  He 
may  have  an  intelligence  just  on  the  border-line  be- 
tween the  two,  and  can  thus  be  classified  as  one  or 
another  equally  well.  For  there  is,  of  course,  no 
valid  distinction  between  a  high-grade  imbecile  and 
a  low-grade  moron ;  between  an  idiot  and  a  low-grade 
imbecile.  The  use  of  such  words  leads  to  the  notion 
that  there  must  be  some  entity  which  can  invariably 
be  identified  as  imbecility,  as  different  qualitatively 
from  moronity,  and  from  idiocy.  This  is,  of  course, 
not  so.  Thus  it  would  be  preferable  to  speak  of  sub- 
normal children  merely  in  terms  of  their  intelligence 
quotients. 

"  Constitutional  Inferiority."    Now,  above  70  and 
below  80  or  85  on  the  scale  of  intellect  fall  those  per- 


THE   DEFINITION   OF   MENTAL   DEFICIENCY     55 

sons  whom  we  call  in  clinical  practice  "  the  border- 
liners,"  "  the  dull,"  "  the  inferiors."  They  are  not 
technically  classifiable  as  feeble-minded,  yet  they  are 
distinctly  below  the  average  in  capacity.  There  are 
great  numbers  of  these  children,  for  we  must  always 
bear  in  mind  that  as  we  go  up  toward  the  norm,  or 
average,  the  numbers  increase  very  rapidly.  Through- 
out our  discussion  it  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  the 
shape  of  the  curve  of  distribution. 

The  Psychological  Criterion  Is  Now  the  Most 
Widely  Accepted.  Mental  deficiency  is  now  gener- 
ally recognized  as  a  psychological  condition.  It  is  to 
be  identified  and  classified  by  psychological  methods. 
That  this  is  so  is  recognized  by  the  best  modern  medi- 
cal writers,  as  well  as  by  the  educators  and  psycholo- 
gists, to  whose  researches  we  owe  the  advance  that 
has  been  made  in  our  knowledge  of  defective  children 
in  recent  years.  As  Tredgold  says,  "  The  condition 
is  a  psychological  one,"  and  the  treatment  is  there- 
fore essentially  educational.  Before  systematic  edu- 
cation is  begun,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  be  certain 
that  general  health  is  as  good  as  it  is  possible  to  make 
it.  This  statement,  of  course,  holds  true  of  all  chil- 
dren. We  shall  not  dwell  upon  details  of  medical 
and  surgical  treatment  here,  since,  to  quote  Tredgold 
again,  "  the  principles  are  the  same  in  these  as  in 
ordinary  children."  Science  knows  of  no  special 
medical  or  surgical  treatment  for  mental  deficiency, 
except  in  secondary  cases  to  be  described  in  a  subse- 
quent chapter  of  this  discussion. 


56     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 


REFERENCES 

1.  Doll,   E.   A.,   Clinical   Studies   in   Feeble-Mindedness.    R. 
Badger.    Boston.    1917. 

2.  Kuhlmann,     F.,     What     Constitutes     Feeble-Mindedness? 
Journal  of  Psycho-Asthenics.    1915. 

3.  Pintner,  R.,  and  Paterson,  D.  G.,  Psychological  Basis  for 
Diagnosis  of  Feeble-Mindedness.    Journal  of  Criminal  Law  and 
Criminology.    May,  1916. 

4.  Tredgold,  A.  F.,   Mental  Deficiency.    William  Wood  and 
Company.    New  York.    1915. 


CHAPTER   IV 

IDENTIFICATION 

Identification  of  Defectives  of  Low  Grade.  It  has 
always  been  easy  for  psychologists,  physicians,  and 
teachers  to  recognize  idiots  and  low-grade  imbeciles 
as  subnormal.  They  have  always  been  identified 
also  by  the  populace  at  large,  and  have  been  de- 
scribed in  popular  terms  as  "  half-witted,"  "  half- 
baked,"  "  daft,"  "  foolish,"  "silly,"  "simple,"  "  child- 
ish," or  "  young  for  their  age."  It  is  interest- 
ing too,  in  the  light  of  modern  psychology,  to  note 
how  people  in  general  have  naively  described  the  de- 
fective in  terms  of  tests  of  knowing  and  doing. 
"  Doesn't  know  enough  to  come  in  out  of  the  rain  " ; 
"  doesn't  know  beans  " ;  "  doesn't  know  straight  up  " ; 
"  can't  even  pound  sand  in  a  hole  " ;  these  are  some  of 
the  expressions  used  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  mental 
condition  of  defective  persons. 

In  the  modern  psychological  method  of  measuring 
intelligence  we  find  tests  involving  orientation  (right, 
left),  tests  involving  knowledge  of  what  to  do  when 
it  rains  ("  What's  the  thing  to  do  if  it  is  raining  when 
you  start  to  school?  "),  tests  involving  the  recogni- 
tion of  objects  of  common  experience,  like  beans, 

57 


58     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

(knife,  key,  penny,  watch,  pencil).  The  psychological 
method  of  identifying  the  subnormal  is  in  a  sense  a 
scientific  elaboration  of  these  naive  methods  of  iden- 
tification, just  as  the  modern  chemical  laboratory  is 
an  outgrowth  of  folk-observations  of  the  effects  of 
certain  ingredients  upon  others  in  combination. 

The  subnormal  who  can  be  identified  as  such  by 
nai've  methods  are,  however,  only  the  very  low  grade, 
who  are  destined  never  to  attain  a  mental  age 
of  over  about  six  years.  To  return  for  a  moment  to 
our  simple  folk-tests,  —  a  mentality  of  over  six  years 
does  know  beans,  does  know  what  to  do  in  case  of 
rain,  does  know  straight  up,  and  can  pound  sand  in 
a  hole.  Thus  nai've  observation  was  and  is  inade- 
quate for  the  recognition  of  all  grades  of  mental  de- 
fect above  this  low  level.  The  majority  of  the  de- 
fective escape  detection  by  the  populace  at  large. 

Recognition  of  Milder  Degrees  of  Subnormality. 
Defectives  higher  in  the  scale  than  those  destined  to 
the  ultimate  level  of  five  or  six  years  were  formerly 
not  recognized  for  what  they  are.  Their  education 
proceeded  by  the  birch-rod,  dunce-cap  method.  All 
teachers  are  familiar  with  old  wood-cuts  showing 
colonial  schoolrooms,  with  the  children  sitting  around 
the  master,  on  wooden  benches.  Everyone  will  re- 
call the  inevitable  dunce,  sitting  in  the  corner  with 
his  dunce-cap  on.  In  the  light  of  what  we  now 
know,  we  may  venture  the  guess  that  under  those 
colonial  dunce-caps  lurked  many  an  IQ  of  70  or  less. 


IDENTIFICATION  59 

However,  in  those  days  no  one  was  thought  of  as 
feeble-minded  who  could  learn  to  write  his  name, 
read  simple  words,  and  "  do  sums."  Those  whom  we 
now  call  morons  and  high-grade  imbeciles  were  then 
regarded  as  "  lazy,"  "  bad,"  "  ne'er-do-well,"  but  as 
normal  intellectually.  Not  psychological  diagnosis, 
but  corporal  punishment,  was  the  accepted  procedure 
with  regard  to  them.  The  defect  was  to  be  over- 
come by  forcing  the  child  to  kneel  on  the  sharp  edge 
of  a  triangular  rod,  by  application  of  the  birch,  and 
by  the  dunce-cap. 

The  colonial  dunce,  isolated  in  his  corner,  repre- 
sents the  rude  beginnings  of  the  modern  special  class. 
Only  we  no  longer  beat  and  torture  him.  We  select 
him  by  psychological  methods,  and  place  him  with 
his  peers,  under  the  care  of  a  teacher  especially 
trained  to  understand  him,  where  he  can  learn  those 
things  which  are  suited  to  his  capacities.  But  how 
is  he  to  be  selected  with  accuracy  and  justice,  since 
to  common  observation  the  nature  and  extent  of  his 
defects  are  not  apparent?  The  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion involves  a  discussion  of  the  psychological 
methods  of  measuring  intelligence.  No  exhaustive 
or  technical  exposition  of  these  methods  can,  how- 
ever, be  undertaken  here,  as  the  subject  is  sufficiently 
broad  at  the  present  time  to  require  several  volumes 
for  its  adequate  treatment.  Since  teachers  are  not 
to  be  responsible  for  the  correct  identification  of  de- 
fectives, but  only  for  the  proper  training  of  them,  this 


60      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

discussion  will  be  limited  to  a  brief  general  descrip- 
tion of  the  methods  of  identification  now  in  use. 

The  Necessity  for  Establishing  a  Scientific  Method 
of  Identification.  It  is  not  enough  to  obtain  the 
personal  judgment  of  those  who  are  acquainted  with 
a  child,  as  to  what  his  mental  quality  may  be,  any 
more  than  it  is  enough  to  ask  them  what  may  be  his 
height,  his  weight,  or  the  size  of  his  feet.  It  is  a 
matter  of  common  knowledge  that  wide  errors  are 
made  in  judging  height  and  weight,  even  by  very  in- 
telligent persons.  No  stock  raiser  would  trust  the 
personal  judgment  of  a  buyer  to  determine  the  weight 
of  his  stock  at  the  market.  No  householder  would 
trust  the  personal  judgment  of  a  grocer  as  to  what 
constitutes  a  pound  of  rice  or  tea.  The  great  falli- 
bility of  subjective  judgments  is  recognized  by  the 
presence  of  scales  in  every  market,  and  of  yardsticks 
in  every  dry-goods  store.  Judgments  of  mental  ca- 
pacity are  subject  to  much  greater  errors  than  are 
judgments  of  such  qualities  as  height,  weight,  length, 
area,  loudness,  tint,  and  pitch.  Yet  human  beings 
are  willing  to  rely  on  personal  judgment  of  mental 
traits,  each  of  us  priding  himself  that  he  is  "  a  good 
judge  of  human  nature,"  and  believing  himself  to  be 
gifted  with  some  mysterious  power  of  gauging  men- 
tal qualities  accurately ! 

In  the  specific  case  of  teachers'  judgments  of  their 
pupils  several  special  fallacies  enter  in  to  produce 
wide  errors.  These  will  be  recognized  by  nearly 


IDENTIFICATION  61 

every  teacher  as  soon  as  they  are  pointed  out.  In 
the  first  place,  teachers  tend  naturally  to  judge  in- 
telligence on  the  basis  of  success  in  school  work,  es- 
pecially success  in  reading  and  arithmetic.  This 
leads  them  into  many  errors,  for  success  in  school 
work  depends  on  a  number  of  factors,  only  one  of 
which  is  intelligence.  A  bright  child  who  has  a  spe- 
cial disability  in  reading  or  arithmetic,  who  is  deaf 
or  astigmatic,  who  is  physically  ill,  may  be  rated  low 
in  school  work,  because  all  of  these  factors  may  re- 
duce his  efficiency.  Also,  a  very  young  child  who  is 
doing  work  of  a  certain  quality  in  a  certain  grade, 
may  be  rated  as  of  equal  intelligence  with  a  much 
older  child  who  is  doing  the  same  quality  of  work  in 
the  same  grade. 

There  is  a  universal  tendency  among  teachers  to 
neglect  the  factor  of  age  when  judging  the  innate 
intelligence  of  pupils.  It  has  been  repeatedly  shown 
that  feeble-minded  children  are  judged  as  normal  by 
teachers  under  whom  they  are  doing  average  work  in 
a  grade  for  which  they  are  four  or  five  years  too  old, 
by  the  age-grade  norms.  In  the  same  way  it  has 
been  shown  that  teachers  judge  as  average  children 
doing  average  work  in  a  grade  for  which  they  are  too 
young,  by  the  age-grade  norms. 

An  additional  source  of  error  is  that  the  pupil  is 
judged  by  appearance,  manner,  and  dress,  all  of  which 
may  or  may  not  be  related  to  the  child's  intelligence. 
A  dull  child,  who  is  well  dressed,  handsome,  and  well 


62      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

trained  in  manners  may  be  rated  higher  in  some  in- 
stances than  a  bright  child  who  is  ugly,  or  boisterous, 
or  in  rags. 

It  is  apparent  that  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  means, 
first,  of  singling  out  intelligence  from  all  the  other 
factors  which  complicate  efficiency  in  school  work, 
and  secondly,  of  measuring  intelligence  objectively, 
so  that  the  personal  equation  may  be  eliminated  as 
completely  as  possible. 

Binet's  Measuring  Scale.  We  have  already  noted 
the  fact  that  when  in  1904  Binet  was  called  upon  to 
advise  the  educational  authorities  in  Paris  as  to  the 
segregation  of  the  mentally  defective  children  in  the 
schools,  he  was  obliged  to  reply  that  there  existed  at 
that  time  no  scientific  method  of  selection.  Only 
the  very  lowest  grades  could  be  recognized  with  cer- 
tainty, and  these  constitute  a  small  part  of  the  prob- 
lem in  the  public  schools. 

For  more  than  fifteen  years  Binet  had  worked  in 
the  psychological  laboratory  with  mental  tests,  and 
in  the  analysis  of  mental  processes.  He  knew  fully 
the  psychological  factors  which  enter  into  subjective 
judgments  to  render  them  unreliable,  and  he  knew 
also  the  scientific  principles  which  underlie  the  for- 
mulation of  objective  criteria  in  psychological  experi- 
mentation. Finally  he  succeeded  in  arranging  a  se- 
ries of  mental  tests,  some  of  which  were  so  simple 
that  three-year-olds  could  respond  adequately  to 
them,  while  others  were  sufficiently  difficult  to  try 


IDENTIFICATION  63 

the  abilities  of  adults,  with  many  intermediate  de- 
grees of  difficulty. 

Psychologists  had  worked  for  more  than  twenty 
years  with  mental  tests,  and  psychiatrists  dealing 
with  the  insane  had  attempted  to  devise  some  method 
of  approaching  their  patients  by  means  of  tests,  be- 
fore Binet  undertook  the  formulation  of  his  scale. 
These  previous  efforts  had  been  unfruitful,  because 
no  one  had  combined  the  two  basic  ideas  upon  which 
Binet's  scale  was  constructed.  A  few  investigators 
had  arranged  tests  in  series,  but  had  done  it  on  the 
basis  of  "  expert  opinion."  The  investigator  guessed 
which  tests  would  be  significant,  and  applied  them 
according  to  his  personal  opinion.  Other  investiga- 
tors realized  that  the  value  and  significance  of  a  test 
cannot  be  determined  by  guessing,  and  had  tried  out 
mental  tests  objectively,  but  had  not  hit  upon  the 
idea  of  constructing  norms  on  the  basis  of  mental 
age. 

Binet  made  his  arrangement  of  tests  not  on  the 
basis  of  his  own  judgment  of  what  would  be  easy  and 
what  would  be  difficult,  but  on  the  basis  of  objective 
experiment.  Many  tests  were  tried  on  children  of 
all  ages.  In  the  course  of  this  experimentation  cer- 
tain tests  were  rejected,  others  were  devised,  and 
finally  each  test  selected  was  assigned  a  place  in  the 
scale,  on  the  basis  of  the  actual  performance  of  the 
children  themselves.  In  its  first  rough  form  the  scale 
consisted  merely  of  thirty  tests  arranged  in  an  ap- 


64      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

proximate  order  of  difficulty.  This  was  published  in 
1905.  Three  years  later  the  scale  was  again  pre- 
sented, this  time  with  the  tests  standardized  in  terms 
of  mental  age.  Those  tests  which  the  average  three- 
year-old  can  meet  successfully  were  grouped  under 
three  years;  those  which  the  average  four-year-old 
can  meet  successfully  were  grouped  under  four  years, 
and  so  forth.  Thus  each  test  came  to  have  a  certain 
objective  value,  expressible  in  terms  of  the  average 
intelligence  of  children  of  a  given  birthday  age. 

In  1911  Binet  published  a  second  revision  of  his 
scale,  but  his  work  was  soon  thereafter  interrupted 
by  death,  and  he  was  prevented  from  perfecting  his 
idea.  However,  his  published  researches  had  been 
read  by  psychologists  all  over  the  civilized  world, 
and  others  at  once  took  up  the  task  of  perfecting  and 
extending  his  scale.  In  the  United  States  revisions 
of  the  scale  were  published  by  Dr.  Goddard,  Dr. 
Kuhlmann,  Drs.  Yerkes,  Bridges,  and  Hardwick,  and 
Dr.  Terman.  The  two  former  performed  the  ser- 
vice of  translating  the  scale,  and  of  making  minor 
adaptations  to  suit  American  children.  The  others 
have  extended  and  revised  the  scale,  and  have  intro- 
duced certain  features  of  scoring  which  require  com- 
ment here. 

The  Measuring  Scale  of  Yerkes,  Bridges,  and  Hard- 
wick.  In  1915  Yerkes,  Bridges,  and  Hardwick  pub- 
lished their  measuring  scale,  revising  to  a  consider- 
able extent  the  tests  of  Binet  by  eliminating  some 


IDENTIFICATION  65 

and  introducing  others  of  their  own  devising.  The 
chief  feature  of  this  scale  was,  however,  the  use  of 
a  new  method  of  scoring,  the  method  of  scoring  by 
points  instead  of  by  years  of  mental  age.  Each  test 
is  assigned  a  value  in  points,  according  to  this 
method,  and  the  maximum  number  of  points  which 
it  is  possible  to  make  is  known.  The  score  of  a  child 
thus  consists  of  the  number  of  points  he  can  make. 

It  is  thought  by  many  competent  psychologists 
that  the  method  of  scoring  by  points  has  advantages 
over  the  method  of  scoring  by  years  of  mental  age, 
and  that  future  developments  in  mental  diagnosis 
will  proceed  in  this  direction.  However,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  notice  that  in  order  to  render  the  results  in- 
telligible in  relation  to  the  case  of  a  given  child,  the 
points  must  always  be  translated  back  again  into 
terms  of  mental  age.  It  is  necessary  to  know  what  is 
the  normal  number  of  points  for  four-year-olds,  for 
five-year-olds,  and  so  forth.  The  advantage  of  a 
scale  having  points  as  units  is  that  by  means  of  it 
curves  of  mental  growth  may  be  determined,  in  a 
way  which  is  impossible  by  the  use  of  scales  in  which 
the  unit  is  years  or  months  of  mental  age.  For  the 
identification  of  the  defective  children  in  any  given 
community,  at  any  given  time,  neither  method  has 
any  advantage  over  the  other,  except  that  scores 
in  terms  of  mental  age  are  more  easily  communicated 
to  those  interested  in  the  child's  welfare,  who  are  not 
professional  psychologists. 


66      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

Yerkes,  Bridges,  and  Hardwick  also  introduced  the 
intelligence  coefficient,  which  is  the  figure  obtained 
by  dividing  the  number  of  points  obtained  in  an  ex- 
amination, by  the  number  of  points  obtained  on  the 
average.  For  example,  if  a  child  of  eight  years  ob- 
tains a  score  of  20  points,  whereas  the  average  score 
of  children  of  that  age  is  39  points,  the  intelligence 
coefficient  of  the  child  under  consideration  is  51. 
Such  a  measure  had  been  suggested  earlier,  but  had 
not  been  used  in  practice. 

The  Stanford  Revision  oj  the  Binet-Simon  Meas- 
uring Scale.  The  Stanford  Scale  is  so  named  be- 
cause the  labor  on  it  was  done  at  Stanford  Univer- 
sity. It  is  the  work  of  Dr.  Terman  and  his  collabo- 
rators. Binet's  scale  in  its  original  form  was  crude 
in  many  respects.  It  was  standardized  on  only  a 
few  children,  and  those  few  were  not  wholly  unse- 
lected.  It  did  not  measure  intelligence  above  the 
eleven-year  level.  Directions  for  giving  the  tests 
were  not  standardized,  and  inasmuch  as  the  direc- 
tions in  giving  a  test  constitute  a  very  important  part 
of  the  test  itself,  this  led  to  unreliable  results.  Binet 
did  not  provide  any  method  for  comparing  the  intel- 
lectual quality  of  a  younger  child  with  that  of  an  older 
child.  Obviously  "  two  years  retarded  "  means  dif- 
ferent things  at  different  ages.  A  three-year-old  who 
is  two  years  retarded  is  a  low  grade  defective,  whereas 
a  thirteen-year-old  who  is  two  years  below  the  norms 
is  merely  dull.  Thus  some  method  of  expressing  the 


IDENTIFICATION  67 

intellectual  quality  as  well  as  the  intellectual  status 
praesens  is  highly  desirable. 

The  Stanford  Scale  remedies  these  defects  of  the 
original  Binet  Scale  more  nearly  than  does  any  other 
now  available.  It  is  standardized  on  a  large  number 
of  children,  selected  as  nearly  as  possible  at  random. 
It  measures  intelligence  up  to  and  including  adult 
(so  far  as  the  average  and  the  subnormal  are  con- 
cerned). Directions  for  giving  the  tests  have  been 
carefully  standardized.  Finally,  the  intelligence 
quotient  is  introduced  as  the  expression  of  intellec- 
tual quality,  with  mental  age  as  the  expression  of  the 
intellectual  status  praesens. 

A  few  further  remarks  concerning  the  intelligence 
quotient  are  necessary,  in  order  that  teachers  may 
have  a  clear  comprehension  of  this  term,  which  is 
coming  into  such  wide  use,  and  which  is  so  significant 
for  their  understanding  of  their  pupils.  The  intelli- 
gence quotient,  referred  to  in  this  book  and  generally 
as  the  IQ,  is  simply  the  ratio  of  actual  age  to  mental 
age,  the  quotient  obtained  by  dividing  the  latter  by 
the  former.  For  example,  if  a  child  eight  years  and 
no  months  old,  measures  at  a  mental  age  of  ten  years 
and  two  months  on  the  scale,  his  IQ  is  127.  If  a 
child  of  the  same  age  measures  eight  years  and  no 
months,  his  IQ  is  100.  If  another  child  of  the  same 
age  measures  four  years  no  months,  his  IQ  is  50.  In 
grading  children  for  school  work,  the  intellectual 
status  praesens,  the  mental  age,  is  the  important 


68     PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

consideration.  In  looking  forward  to  determine  what 
their  future  prospects  may  be,  the  important  consid- 
eration is  the  IQ.  (Its  significance  is  obviously  the 
same  as  the  intelligence  coefficient  of  Yerkes,  Bridges, 
and  Hardwick.) 

Does  the  IQ  tell  us  exactly  what  a  child  will  be  in- 
tellectually ten  years  hence?  Or  does  the  IQ  change 
from  year  to  year?  We  cannot  answer  this  question 
positively  now.  No  one  has  ever  re-measured  the 
same  children  year  after  year  from  early  childhood 
to  maturity.  Such  re-measurements  as  we  have  in- 
dicate that  the  IQ  remains  constant  for  the  middle 
50  percent  of  children;  that  the  average  child  gains 
just  a  year  in  mental  age  each  year  he  lives,  until 
maturity  is  attained.  In  the  case  of  subnormal  chil- 
dren the  indication  is  that  the  IQ  becomes  slightly 
lower  as  development  proceeds.  They  fall  gradually 
farther  and  farther  behind  the  norms  as  time  goes 
on.  In  the  case  of  superior  children  no  data  have 
been  made  available,  but  from  tests  repeated  on  very 
superior  children  in  the  Horace  Mann  School  the 
present  writer  believes  that  they  become  farther  and 
farther  removed  from  the  norms  in  the  direction  of 
superiority  as  they  develop,  and  that  the  IQ  becomes 
gradually  higher  and  higher,1  as  the  IQ  of  the  inferior 
becomes  lower  and  lower. 

In  all  this  there  is,  unfortunately,  no  encourage- 

1  This  surmise  is  confirmed  by  Dr.  Terman  in  his  recent  work, 
The  Intelligence  of  School  Children.  He  notes  the  same  tendency. 


IDENTIFICATION  69 

ment  to  believe  that  the  IQ  of  a  defective  child  may 
change  for  the  better  as  he  grows  older.  To  those 
that  have,  more  shall  be  given ;  while  from  those  that 
have  little,  even  the  little  that  they  have  shall  be 
taken  away.  Nature  does  not  hold  by  the  law  of 
compensation,  however  much  we  might  wish  that  she 
would. 

Psychographic  Methods.  There  is  noticeable  at 
present  a  movement  toward  the  analysis  of  mental 
make-up,  by  the  method  of  measuring  the  individual 
in  various  kinds  of  mental  work,  and  by  casting  up 
the  result  for  each  test  separately.  Such  a  method 
yields  a  psychographic  picture  of  the  individual, 
showing  in  what  kinds  of  work  he  is  least  capable, 
and  in  what  kinds  of  work  he  is  most  capable,  as  well 
as  revealing  his  general  intelligence  level.  This 
method  was  proposed  some  years  ago  by  William 
Stern,  and  has  been  developed  somewhat  by  psychol- 
ogists. Its  full  development  and  application  are, 
however,  matters  for  the  future. 

Group  Tests.  A  serious  difficulty  in  the  use  of  a 
measuring  scale  such  as  those  just  described  is  that 
it  can  be  applied  to  but  one  individual  at  a  time.  To 
sift  out  all  the  defectives  from  among  ten  thousand 
school  children  by  giving  each  an  individual  exami- 
nation is  an  exceedingly  expensive  process.  When 
the  psychologists  in  national  service  were  confronted 
with  the  necessity  of  identifying  the  mentally  defi- 
cient among  the  soldiers  during  the  recent  war,  it  was 


70 

clear  that  an  individual  examination  could  not  be 
given  to  each  of  the  thousands  of  men  who  presented 
themselves  for  duty.  In  this  situation  group  tests 
were  devised,  which  could  be  given  to  many  men  at 
the  same  time.  Those  who  fell  far  below  the  norms 
in  these  group  tests  were  then  selected  for  individual 
examination. 

The  same  method  is  applicable  to  school  children, 
and  in  future  we  shall  undoubtedly  see  group  tests 
regularly  in  use  as  a  preliminary  means  of  identify- 
ing the  subnormal. 

After  the  foregoing  discussion  a  need  may  be  felt 
for  some  brief  and  simple  definition  of  a  mental  test. 
What  is  a  mental  test?  The  definition  is  most  ap- 
propriately formulated  in  terms  of  behavioristic 
psychology,  on  the  tenets  of  which  mental  tests  are 
founded.  A  mental  test  is  a  standard  situation, 
which  provokes  a  response  capable  of  qualitative 
or  quantitative  interpretation.  At  present  mental 
tests  have  been  devised  only  for  intelligence.  Other 
aspects  of  mental  life  cannot  yet  be  tested. 

How  a  Diagnosis  Is  Made.  A  diagnosis  of  mental 
deficiency  is  never  made  on  the  basis  of  an  intelli- 
gence examination  alone.  Intelligence  tests  are 
strictly  limited  in  their  function  to  the  determina- 
tion of  intelligence  level  at  the  time  of  examination. 
By  their  use  alone  all  forms  of  mental  incompetence 
would  be  confused.  The  temporary  mental  inade- 
quacy of  the  manic-depressive,  the  deterioration  of 


IDENTIFICATION  71 

the  paretic,  the  inaccessibility  of  the  dementia  prae- 
cox,  and  many  other  forms  of  mental  disorder  may 
be  mistaken  for  feeble-mindedness  on  the  basis  of 
an  intelligence  test  alone.  Intelligence  scales  give 
no  information  as  to  the  underlying  causes  of  the  in- 
competence which  they  reveal.  Thus  much  addi- 
tional information  must  be  sought.  No  diagnosis 
can  be  made  without  a  developmental  history,  a 
family  history,  a  school  history,  a  neurological  exam- 
ination, a  sensory  examination,  and  in  some  cases 
data  even  beyond  these. 

In  school  systems  which  afford  medical  inspection, 
school  nurse,  and  a  psychological  clinic  several  indi- 
viduals contribute  to  the  diagnosis  of  a  given  case. 
Those  participating  may  be  the  teacher,  the  physi- 
cian, the  school  nurse  (or  visiting  teacher),  and  the 
psychologist.  Not  many  communities  are  thus  ade- 
quately equipped  at  present.  Newark,  New  Jersey, 
may  be  mentioned  as  a  model.  In  that  city  the  Di- 
vision of  Medical  Inspection  in  the  schools  maintains 
a  psychological  clinic,  through  which  children  sus- 
pected of  mental  deficiency  pass,  to  be  examined  for 
the  special  schools.  The  teacher  reports  on  the 
school  work  and  the  conduct  of  the  child.  The 
school  nurse  visits  the  home,  and  collects  information 
about  family  and  personal  history.  The  physician 
makes  a  report  on  the  health  of  the  child.  This  in- 
formation comes  finally  to  the  psychologist,  who  is 
in  charge  of  the  psychological  clinic.  He  confers 


72     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

further  if  necessary  with  teacher,  nurse,  or  physician, 
and  makes  the  diagnosis  on  the  evidence  from  his 
direct  examination  of  the  child,  plus  all  the  additional 
information  which  he  receives.  This  plan  was  for- 
mulated and  carried  into  execution  by  Dr.  George  J. 
Holmes,  Supervisor  of  Medical  Inspection  in  the 
schools  of  Newark.  Other  cities  such  as  St.  Louis, 
Cleveland,  Los  Angeles,  Cincinnati,  are  similarly 
well  equipped.  Still  other  communities  are  partially 
equipped  to  care  for  the  identification  of  subnormal 
children. 

The  Teacher's  Part  in  Identification.  The  teach- 
er's or  supervisor's  function  is  primarily  and  chiefly 
to  organize  and  carry  on  the  proper  training  of  the 
children.  However,  in  doing  this  he  or  she  becomes 
aware  of  certain  data  which  are  of  much  interest  in 
identification.  In  cases  where  group  tests  are  not 
used,  the  teacher  of  the  regular  elementary  grades  is 
expected  to  note  and  report  upon  children  who  show 
symptoms  of  mental  deficiency,  and  who  are  to  be 
examined.  The  teacher  or  supervisor  should  ob- 
serve the  pupils,  to  report  upon  their  work  and  con- 
duct, and  to  consult  with  the  psychologist  on  progress 
made  under  training. 

The  School  Nurse's  Duty.  The  school  nurse,  or 
visiting  teacher,  goes  to  the  home,  and  tries  to  assist 
the  parents  in  following  out  recommendations  made 
for  the  welfare  of  the  child.  Frequently  it  becomes 
her  function  to  collect  data  on  family  and  personal 


IDENTIFICATION  73 

history,  and  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  family  situa- 
tion in  general. 

The  Physician's  Duty.  The  school  physician 
should  ascertain  the  physical  condition  of  the  men- 
tally subnormal  children,  just  as  he  ascertains  the 
condition  of  all  the  other  children  in  the  school.  He 
should  report  upon  the  general  health  of  the  child, 
with  special  reference  to  diseases  such  as  syphilis, 
which  are  known  to  affect  the  nervous  system.  The 
medical  inspection  of  subnormal  children  follows  the 
same  lines  as  the  medical  inspection  of  average  and 
superior  children.  As  Tredgold  says,  of  medical  and 
surgical  treatment,  "  the  principles  are  the  same  in 
these  as  in  ordinary  children."  If  any  physical  dis- 
ability is  present,  it  should  be  corrected,  if  it  is  cor- 
rigible. It  is  the  function  of  the  physician  to  deter- 
mine the  presence  or  absence  of  physical  disorder, 
to  prescribe  treatment,  and  to  report  upon  such  con- 
ditions to  the  psychological  clinic. 

The  Psychologist's  Duty.  The  responsibility  of 
the  final  diagnosis  of  mental  deficiency  rests  upon  the 
psychologist,  or  psychiatrist,  who  has  been  especially 
trained  for  his  work  in  normal  and  abnormal  psychol- 
ogy, and  in  neurology.  It  is  his  duty  to  make  the 
mental  examination.  He  should  coordinate  and  in- 
terpret the  various  kinds  of  information,  in  coopera- 
tion with  all  others  concerned,  and  should  determine 
the  mental  status  and  quality  of  the  child.  His  ver- 
dict will  imply  a  certain  kind  of  training  for  the  child, 


74     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

which  depends  in  turn  upon  those  who  have  the  or- 
ganization and  conduct  of  education  under  their 
charge. 

The  Growth  of  Psychological  Clinics  in  the  United 
States.  Over  twenty  years  have  elapsed  since  Dr. 
Lightner  Witmer  established  the  first  psychological 
clinic  in  the  United  States,  at  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  Dr.  Witmer  has  told  how  this  hap- 
pened. A  teacher  came  to  the  psychological  labor- 
atory, where  Dr.  Witmer  was  in  charge,  seeking  help 
for  a  pupil  who  could  not  spell.  "  Her  assumption 
was  that  psychology  should  be  able  to  discover  the 
cause  of  this  deficiency  and  advise  the  means  of  re- 
moving it."  Dr.  Witmer  applied  himself  to  the 
problem,  which  the  teacher  thus  set  for  him.  At  that 
time  psychology  had  never  attempted  to  discover 
the  causes  of  chronic  bad  spelling,  or  the  remedies  for 
it.  It  appeared  to  Dr.  Witmer  that  if  psychology 
were  worth  anything  to  him  or  to  others,  it  should 
be  able  to  assist  the  efforts  of  the  teacher  in  a  retarded 
case  of  this  kind. 

Working  out  his  methods  of  examination  as  he 
went,  Dr.  Witmer  made  a  thorough  study  of  this 
child,  who  was  a  fourteen-year-old  boy.  It  was  dis- 
covered that  the  important  factor  in  the  boy's  diffi- 
culty was  an  eye  defect.  After  this  defect  had  been 
corrected  the  teacher  and  the  psychologist  worked 
together,  to  instruct  the  boy,  "  as  though  he  were  a 
mere  beginner  in  the  art  of  spelling  and  reading." 


I 
IDENTIFICATION  75 

Other  teachers  approached  this  laboratory,  and 
thus  it  came  about  that  the  first  psychological  clinic 
in  this  country  was  established  as  a  result  of  the  ear- 
nest demand  of  teachers  for  help  in  the  solution  of 
educational  problems.  It  is  in  response  to  their  in- 
creasing demands  that  psychological  clinics  have  ap- 
peared all  over  the  United  States  within  the  past 
decade. 

The  clinic  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  was 
established  in  the  year  1896.  In  1909  the  demand 
for  its  services  had  become  so  great  that  regular  daily 
clinics  were  instituted.  All  kinds  of  mental  and 
moral  deviation  are  handled,  as  is  true  of  psychologi- 
cal clinics  the  country  over.  Mental  deficiency  is 
but  one  of  the  psychological  problems  which  arise  in 
the  schools,  though  it  is  one  of  the  largest  problems. 

Following  the  precedent  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, many  departments  of  psychology  and  edu- 
cation in  universities  have  established  psychological 
clinics.  Sometimes  they  are  called  educational  clin- 
ics, or  psycho-educational  clinics.  As  examples  may 
be  mentioned  the  Psychological  Clinic  at  the  State 
University  of  Ohio,  the  Psychological  Clinic  at  the 
University  of  Indiana,  the  Educational  Clinic  at  the 
College  of  the  City  of  New  York,  the  Psychological 
Clinic  at  the  University  of  Texas,  the  Psychological 
Clinic  at  the  University  of  Pittsburgh,  and  the  Psy- 
chological Clinic  at  the  University  of  Southern  Cali- 
fornia. 


76     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

In  other  instances  the  educational  officers  of  a  city 
or  state  have  established  a  psychological  clinic  as  a 
part  of  the  public  school  system.  Examples  of  this 
are  found  in  the  Psycho-Educational  Clinic  in  St. 
Louis,  the  Psycho-Educational  Clinic  in  Newark,  the 
Psychological  Clinic  in  Oakland,  the  Psychological 
Clinic  in  Los  Angeles,  the  Vocation  Bureau  in  Cin- 
cinnati, the  Psychological  Clinic  in  Cleveland,  the 
Department  of  Child  Study  in  Chicago,  and  numer- 
ous others. 

In  small  towns  and  in  rural  districts  the  psycholog- 
ical work  is  best  administered  by  the  state,  as  is  now 
done  in  Wisconsin,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  and  other 
states. 

The  Future  of  the  Psychological  Clinic.  As  the 
movement  for  special  classes  grows,  the  psychological 
clinic  will  grow  with  it.  Individualized  instruction 
calls  for  the  scientific  recognition  of  individual  differ- 
ences, which  is  the  service  that  the  psychologist  has 
been  trained  to  render. 

It  is  sometimes  objected  that  the  clinic  will  be  an 
added  expense,  which  a  given  community  cannot  af- 
ford to  shoulder.  It  must  be  remembered,  however, 
that  the  community  in  that  case  continues  to  incur 
the  expense  of  repetition  in  the  grades,  of  truant 
officers,  and  of  adolescents  who  are  turned  out  of 
school  at  the  age  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  years,  untrained, 
though  hundreds  of  dollars  have  been  spent  in  pre- 
senting unsuitable  material  which  they  could  not 


IDENTIFICATION  77 

grasp.  Ayres'  figures  showed  that  repeaters  in  the 
grades  cost  millions  of  dollars  annually,  all  this 
money  being  spent  in  teaching  over  again  material 
which  cannot  in  many  cases  be  grasped  at  all.  In  the 
long  run  the  judgment  of  a  community  is  bound  to 
be  that  money  invested  in  a  psychological  clinic  is 
more  useful  than  money  invested  in  repetition,  tru- 
ancy, and  industrial  helplessness. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Army    Mental   Tests.    Office    of   The   Surgeon   General, 
Washington.    1918. 

2.  Binet,  A.,  and  Simon,  Th.,  The  Development  of  Intelli- 
gence in  Children.    Trans,  by  E.  Kite.    The  Training   School. 
Vineland,  N.  J.    1916. 

3.  Goddard,  H.  H.,  The  Research  Department:  What  it  is, 
What  it  is  Doing,  and  What  it  Hopes  to  Do.    The  Training  School. 
Vineland,  N.  J.    1914. 

4.  Holmes,  A.,  The  Conservation  of  the  Child.    Lippincott 
Company.  Philadelphia.    1912. 

5.  Otis,  A.  S.,  Group  Intelligence  Scale.    World  Book  Com- 
pany.   New  York.    1919. 

6.  Pintner,  R.,  The  Mental  Survey.  D.  Appleton  and  Com- 
pany.   New  York.    1918. 

7.  Pressey,  S.  L.  and  Pressey,  L.  W.,  A  Group  Point  Scale 
for  Measuring  General  Intelligence.    Journal  of  Applied  Psychol- 
ogy.   Sept.,  1918. 

8.  Stern,  W.,  Psychological  Methods  of  Testing  Intelligence. 
Warwick  and  York.    Baltimore.    1917. 

9.  Terman,     L.     M.,     The     Measurement     of     Intelligence. 
Houghton  Mifflin  Company.    New  York.    1916. 

10.  Terman,  L.  M.,  Research  in  Mental  Deviation  among 
Children.  Laboratory  of  The  Buckel  Foundation.  Stanford 
University.  Bulletin  No.  2.  1915. 

11.  Wallin,  J.  E.  W.,  Problems  in  Sub-Normality.  The  World 
Book  Company.  Yonkers,  New  York.  1917. 


78      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

12.  Whipple,  G.  M.,  Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests. 
Warwick  and  York.    Baltimore.    1917. 

13.  Yerkes,  R.  M.,  Bridges,  J.  W.,  and  Hardwick,  R.,  A  Point 
Scale  for  Measuring  Mental  Ability.    Warwick  and  York.    Balti- 
more.   1915. 


CHAPTER   V 

ARE   THE   DEFECTIVE   A   SEPARATE   SPECIES? 

SINCE  the  treatment  of  the  feeble-minded  must  be 
primarily  educational,  it  is  necessary  that  the  teach- 
ers who  have  charge  of  them  should  be  informed  of 
all  the  known  facts  about  their  mental  condition. 
One  of  the  first  questions  to  be  investigated  by  ex- 
perimental psychologists  interested  in  the  training 
of  mentally  deficient  children  was  this:  Do  the 
feeble-minded  form  a  distinct  species  intellectually? 

It  Was  Formerly  Assumed  as  a  Matter  of  Course 
that  the  Feeble-Minded  Belonged  to  a  Distinct  Men- 
tal Species.  Herbart's  theory  advanced  so  long  ago, 
that  the  feeble-minded  form  simply  the  opposite  ex- 
treme from  genius,  and  differ  from  the  normal  only  in 
degree,  made  relatively  little  impression  upon  current 
thought.  It  was  supposed  generally  that  the  feeble- 
minded were  divided  from  the  normal  by  a  sharp 
line  of  demarcation,  on  the  one  side  of  which  stood  all 
who  were  not  feeble-minded,  while  on  the  other  side 
stood  all  who  were  so  afflicted,  —  the  so-called  idiots. 
According  to  this  view,. there  was  also  another  line  of 
demarcation,  separating  the  normal  people  from  the 

79 


80      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

geniuses,  who  like  the  feeble-minded  formed  a  sep- 
arate species.  Thus  the  conception  of  the  matter 
which  formerly  obtained  might  be  graphically  repre- 
sented in  this  way : 


Fro.  6.  —  Showing  schematically  the  erroneous  conception  of  the  division 
between  normal  and  defective,  and  between  normal  and  genius. 

There  were,  according  to  this  view  of  the  distribu- 
tion of  intellect,  the  "  idiots,"  who  were  all  like  each 
other  in  some  essential  characteristics,  but  entirely 
unlike  normal  persons  in  these  particulars.  Then 
there  were  the  "  normal "  persons,  who  were  mentally 
all  equal  to  one  another,  but  different  from  the 
"  idiots  "  and  from  the  "  geniuses"  in  certain  definite 
and  essential  traits.  Finally  there  were  the  "  gen- 
iuses," who  all  shared  some  mysterious  essence  or 
quality,  which  was,  however,  totally  absent  in  "  nor- 
mal "  or  "  ordinary  "  human  beings. 

It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  such  a  view  would  have 
certain  implications  for  pedagogy.  If  the  mentally 
deficient  child  belongs  to  a  species  which  differs  in 
kind  from  ordinary  children,  he  will  have  to  be  in- 
structed by  methods  and  in  matters  which  differ  in 
kind  from  the  methods  and  matters  of  the  ordinary 
school. 


ARE   THE   DEFECTIVE   A  SEPARATE   SPECIES?      81 

The  Search  for  a  Qualitative  Difference  between 
the  Feeble-Minded  and  the  Normal.  The  belief  that 
the  mental  defective  is  of  a  different  kind  from  the 
normal  is  reflected  over  and  over  again  in  the  liter- 
ature of  the  subject.  There  has  been,  however,  no 
agreement  as  to  what  might  constitute  this  differ- 
ence ;  as  to  what  might  be  present  in  (or  absent  from) 
the  mental  constitution  of  the  feeble-minded,  which 
was  not  present  in  (or  absent  from)  the  mental  con- 
stitution of  ordinary  persons. 

At  one  time  it  was  supposed  that  the  "  idiot  "  was 
imbued  with  a  supernatural  power,  and  that  this 
quality  separated  him  distinctly  from  the  ordinary 
children.  The  babblings  of  the  feeble-minded  were 
thus  heeded  with  the  greatest  respect,  as  being  mes- 
sages from  the  supernatural.  It  is  even  reported 
that  Tycho  Brahe,  an  astronomer  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
kept  an  idiot  in  his  observatory,  and  hoped  by  means 
of  his  inarticulate  mutterings  to  learn  the  secrets  of 
science.  Houses  in  which  idiotic  children  were  born 
were  thought  to  be  marked  by  the  divinity.  This 
attitude  of  superstitious  veneration  is  reported  to 
survive  even  yet  in  certain  oriental  countries. 

Later  there  appears  in  connection  with  the  medical 
conception  of  mental  deficiency  the  idea  that  feeble- 
mindedness is  a  pathological  condition,  due  to  some 
underlying  pathological  cause,  but  for  the  operation 
of  which  the  individual  in  question  would  have  been 
normal.  The  feeble-minded,  according  to  this  view, 


82     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

would  be  separated  definitely  from  the  normal  in  the 
same  way  that  the  sick  are  separated  from  the  well. 
This  conception  of  mental  deficiency  as  a  disease 
arises  naturally  among  physicians,  since  they  tend, 
in  accordance  with-  psychological  law,  to  reason  from 
analogy  with  what  has  come  within  their  experience. 
Physicians  are  trained  to  recognize  and  treat  physi- 
cal disease.  An  individual  either  has  or  has  not 
typhoid  fever,  for  example.  Reasoning  from  analogy 
with  such  organic  abnormalities,  men  came  to  speak 
of  the  feeble-minded  as  "  having  imbecility  "  or  be- 
ing "  affected  by  idiocy,"  as  though  these  things  were 
disease  entities. 

Examples  of  this  tendency  to  regard  the  feeble- 
minded as  a  separate  species  are  freely  scattered 
through  the  literature.  For  instance  in  the  writings 
of  Tuke  the  following  appears:  "  As  the  scale  of  im- 
beciles ascends,  it  is  found  that  the  condition  is  evi- 
denced not  so  much  by  low  obtuseness  as  by  irregu- 
larity of  intellectual  developments.  This  seems  to 
make  the  difference  between  the  extreme  stupidity 
of  the  lowest  of  the  healthy,  and  the  highest  form  of 
the  morbidly  depraved  type.  .  .  .  The  two  conditions 
do  not  merge  gradually  into  each  other."  Again,  in 
a  Report  on  Physical  and  Mental  Affections  of  Chil- 
dren published  in  London,  we  find  the  following: 
"  We  have,  then,  in  the  ascending  scale  from  imbe- 
cility upwards,  this  irregularity  of  mental  conforma- 
tion, and  then  again  separated  as  by  a  clear  line  the 


ARE   THE   DEFECTIVE  A  SEPARATE  SPECIES?       83 

uniformity  of  dullness  of  a  low  class  of  the  healthy 
type.  .  .  .  Belonging,  so  to  speak,  to  a  separate  series 
is  the  lowest  of  the  healthy  —  the  dullard." 

There  has  also  been  a  protracted  effort  to  formulate 
a  qualitative  difference  between  the  mentally  defi- 
cient and  the  normal  in  terms  of  psychology.  It  has 
been  said  that  the  essential  difference  consists  in  "  a 
want  of  psychic  force."  Thus  originates  the  term 
"weak-minded,"  with  vague  ideas  of  analogy  with 
physical  weakness.  An  interesting  illustration  of 
this  point  of  view  was  shown  in  the  case  of  an  im- 
becile, who  was  recently  referred  to  the  writer  by  a 
dentist.  The  dentist  refused  to  administer  gas  to 
this  obviously  "  weak-minded  "  girl  until  he  had  in 
hand  a  statement  signed  by  a  psychologist  to  the 
effect  that  the  "  weak  "  mind  was  not  liable  thus  to 
be  wholly  extinguished.1 

Still  another  theory  has  had  it  that  there  is  in  the 
feeble-minded  person  an  "  absolute  defect,"  an  abso- 
lute lack  of  something  which  is  always  found  in  nor- 
mal persons.  As  to  what  this  "  absolute  defect " 
might  be,  there  has  been  much  disagreement.  The 
feeble-minded  have  been  variously  said  to  lack 
"  judgment,"  "  reasoning  power,"  "  understanding," 
"  the  power  to  learn."  Even  Binet  in  his  earlier  re- 
searches concluded  that  there  must  be  some  real  dif- 
ference of  kind,  which  could  be  used  as  a  touchstone 

1  This  precaution  would  not  have  seemed  irrelevant,  however, 
had  this  girl  been  found  to  be  a  glandular  case.  Anesthetic*  are 
dangerous  in  some  such  cases. 


84      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

to  distinguish  the  defective  from  ordinary  children. 
In  his  work  entitled  Mentally  Defective  Children, 
Binet  says:  "  A  second  and  totally  different  theory  is 
tenable,  and  this  one  appears  to  us  to  be  much  nearer 
the  truth.  It  is  that  a  defective  child  does  not  re- 
semble in  any  way  a  normal  one  whose  development 
has  been  retarded  or  arrested.  He  is  inferior,  not  in 
degree,  but  in  kind.  .  .  .  An  unequal  and  imperfect 
development  is  his  specific  characteristic.  These  in- 
equalities of  development  may  vary  to  any  degree  in 
different  subjects.  They  always  produce  a  want  of 
equilibrium,  and  this  want  is  the  differentiating  at- 
tribute of  the  defective  child."  After  further  re- 
search, Binet  completely  revised  this  conclusion,  as 
we  shall  see. 

Various  Special  Systems  of  Education  Were  De- 
vised on  the  Assumption  that  Mentally  Defective 
Children  Differ  in  Kind  from  Ordinary  Children. 
The  best  known  of  these  is,  perhaps,  the  "  physio- 
logical method "  of  Seguin,  to  whom  belongs 
the  honor  of  having  formulated  the  first  complete 
system  of  education  for  defective  children.  His  plan 
was  founded  on  the  now  antiquated  faculty  psychol- 
ogy. He  believed  that  general  improvement  could 
be  brought  about  by  training  in  specific  tasks;  that 
mind  could  be  divided  into  separate  entities,  called 
variously  '  the  attention/  '  the  sense-perceptions,' 
'  the  will/  '  the  memory/  and  the  like ;  and  that  each 
of  these  could  be  strengthened  by  special  exercise,  as 


ARE  THE   DEFECTIVE  A  SEPARATE  SPECIES?       85 

a  muscle  may  be  strengthened  by  lifting  dumb- 
bells, so  that  it  will  lift  any  kind  of  objects  equally 
well. 

For  the  day  in  which  he  lived,  Seguin's  ideas  were, 
however,  remarkably  advanced.  Another  feature  of 
his  method  was  the  "  education  of  muscles."  He  hoped 
to  develop  ideas  of  movement  and  achievement  in 
the  idiot,  by  putting  him  through  various  planned 
exercises.  The  form-board,  now  used  as  a  mental 
test,  was  originally  devised  by  Seguin  as  an  educa- 
tional instrument,  for  training  idiots  in  perception 
of  form  and  size.  In  short,  Seguin  believed  that  the 
feeble-minded  would  profit  from  the  application  of 
a  different  kind  of  training  from  that  given  to  ordi- 
nary children.  It  remained  for  Montessori,  whose 
methods  are  very  similar  to  those  of  Seguin,  to  dem- 
onstrate that  normal  children  are  amenable  to  the 
same  devices  which  were  found  effective  with  defi- 
cient children. 

In  the  practical  demonstration  of  his  methods, 
Seguin  founded  the  famous  school  which  bears 
his  name,  and  which  has  grown  in  usefulness  with  the 
growth  of  interest  in,  and  scientific  knowledge  about, 
the  mentally  defective. 

Norsworthy's  Experiments.  Dr.  Norsworthy 
was  the  first  to  investigate  this  question  by 
the  methods  of  experimental  psychology.  Her  re- 
sults were  published  in  the  year  1906.  It  so  hap- 
pened that  during  the  very  years  in  which  she  was 


86      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

carrying  out  her  experiments,  Binet  and  Simon  were 
also  working  experimentally  with  defective  children, 
though  not  with  this  particular  question  so  clearly 
formulated  as  the  purpose  of  their  investigation. 

Dr.  Norsworthy  measured  a  number  of  feeble- 
minded children,  in  a  variety  of  mental  traits, 
and  likewise  a  number  of  ordinary  school  children  in 
the  same  traits.  She  found  that  in  all  traits  meas- 
ured the  performance  of  the  former  was  continuous 
with  the  performance  of  the  latter.  In  other  words, 
the  feeble-minded  did  not  fall  into  a  class  by  them- 
selves, but  joined  with  the  normal,  forming  the  very 
fag-end  of  the  curve  of  distribution.  The  conclu- 
sions of  this  careful  research  are  stated  by  the  in- 
vestigator thus: 

"  Idiots  seem  not  to  form  a  separate  class  or 
species,  as  far  as  intellectual  traits  are  concerned,  but 
are  included  as  part  of  a  large  distribution.  A  group 
of  individuals  forming  a  separate  species  in  any  trait 
would  be  a  group  clustering  about  a  central  point, 
and  lying  in  the  main  outside  the  distribution  of  nor- 
mal individuals  in  that  trait."  This  latter  result 
Norsworthy  did  not  obtain. 

Binet's  Observations.  As  we  have  already  stated, 
Binet  at  a  relatively  early  period  in  his  study  of  the 
feeble-minded  stated  that  they  seemed  to  him  to 
differ  in  kind  from  normals.  But  after  prolonged 
psychological  experimentation  he  revised  this  idea, 
and  came  independently  to  the  same  conclusion  as 


ARE   THE   DEFECTIVE  A  SEPARATE  SPECIES?       87 

that  reached  by  Norsworthy.  In  the  volume  entitled 
The  Intelligence  of  the  Feeble-Minded,  Binet  writes 
on  this  question  as  follows: 

"...  Is  it  possible  to  cite  known  mental  faculties  which  be- 
long to  normals  and  are  not  found  among  defectives?  Formerly 
this  was  believed,  and  certain  authors  believe  it  still;  but  this 
is  because  they  have  submitted  their  subjects  to  incomplete  ob- 
servations. Let  us  make  an  enumeration.  Is  the  defective  radi- 
cally incapable  of  attention?  Evidently  not.  We  have  proved, 
even  with  idiots,  that  they  give  undeniable  evidences  of  atten- 
tion. ...  Is  it  that  memory  is  lacking?  Not  that  either.  We 
have  noted  many  instances  of  prolonged  memory  among 
them.  .  .  .  Are  they  strangers  to  the  notion  of  number?  This  has 
been  believed,  because  they  employ  at  random  the  names  of 
numbers  which  they  do  not  understand;  but  some  precise  tests 
have  shown  us  that  they  have  a  distinct  consciousness  of  plu- 
rality even  when  they  cannot  name  it.  Is  it  then  critical  sense, 
judgment  that  they  lack?  Certainly  judgment  often  fails  them; 
or  rather  they  can  be  placed  in  certain  conditions  where  it  would 
require  a  particular  degree  of  judgment  for  them  to  be  equal  to 
the  situation,  and  they  cannot  attain  it.  But  in  other  cases  they 
certainly  show  some  judgment,  for  instance  when  Albert  re- 
fuses to  be  the  dupe  of  suggestion.  We  may  thus  pass  in  review 
all  our  faculties,  and  determine  that  not  one  is  entirely  lacking  in 
them..  .They  always  have  them  in  some  degree. ..The  arsenal  of 
their  intellect  is  equipped  with  all  the  weapons. 

"  Another  means  of  arriving  at  the  same  conclusion  consists 
in  repeating  an  experiment  that  had  been  attempted  by  them 
but  in  which  they  had  failed:  let  that  experiment  be  simplified 
by  replacing  it  with  another  of  the  same  nature  but  easier,  and 
the  defective  immediately  takes  his  revenge.  A  certain  movement 
cannot  be  accomplished  in  ten  seconds;  he  does  it  in  twenty  sec- 
onds. He  cannot  repeat  four  figures;  but  he  can  repeat  two.  He 
does  not  understand  a  certain  sentence;  but  he  comprehends  an- 
other that  is  shorter  and  less  complicated.  He  fails  in  a  '  game  of 
patience  '  formed  of  ten  pieces ;  he  succeeds  if  the  number  of  pieces 
is  only  three.  Sometimes  it  is  not  easy  to  simplify  a  test;  but 
every  time  that  it  is  reduced  sufficiently,  one  can  be  certain  that 
the  defective  will  be  able  to  succeed. 


88      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

"  This  truth,  verified  repeatedly,  frees  us  from  the  necessity  of 
undertaking  an  investigation  whose  result  can  be  foreseen.  .  .  . 
Thus  there  is  no  need  of  asking  whether  an  imbecile  has  any 
aesthetic  sense.  He  will  always  have  at  least  a  trace.  Show  him 
two  figures,  one  pretty,  the  other  ugly,  and  he  will  be  able  to  make 
a  distinction  between  them  if  you  carry  the  degree  of  deformity 
far  enough. 

"  All  this  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  the  difference  between 
the  defective  and  the  normal  is  not  produced  by  the  absence  of  a 
particular  faculty,  and  alienists  who  in  their  definitions  have 
seemed  to  imply  the  contrary  have  deceived  themselves." 

Witmer's  Conclusions.  Witmer  is  in  harmony  with 
the  conclusion  reached  by  Norsworthy  and  by  Binet, 
as  is  shown  in  a  statement  made  by  him  in  1907.  As 
a  result  of  his  examination  of  children  in  the  psycho- 
logical laboratory,  Witmer  says,  "  I  would  not  have 
it  thought  that  the  method  of  clinical  psychology  is 
limited  necessarily  to  mentally  and  morally  retarded 
children.  These  children  are  not,  properly  speak- 
ing, abnormal,  nor  is  the  condition  of  many  of  them 
to  be  designated  as  in  any  way  pathological.  They 
deviate  from  the  average  of  children  only  in  being  at 
a  lower  stage  of  individual  development." 

Other  Evidence  that  the  Feeble-Minded  Differ 
from  Normals  Only  in  Degree.  The  best  evidence 
we  have  that  the  feeble-minded  are  different  from  or- 
dinary persons  not  in  kind,  but  only  in  degree,  comes 
'from  psychological  experiments  like  those  of  Nors- 
worthy and  Binet.  All  similar  experiments  made 
since  their  work  was  published  have  confirmed  their 
result.  Besides,  these  researches,  and  as  a  conse- 


ARE  THE  DEFECTIVE  A  SEPARATE  SPECIES?       89 

quence  of  them,  other  facts  have  come  to  light  in  re- 
cent years,  which  formerly  were  unknown,  and  which 
contribute  materially  to  our  understanding  of  this 
question.  For  example,  before  the  graded  scales  for 
the  measurement  of  intelligence  were  devised,  the 
moron  was  unknown.  All  who  could  learn  to  read 
and  write  with  some  degree  of  skill,  and  who  had  no 
stigmata  of  degeneration,  were  considered  to  belong 
to  the  "  normals."  Such  a  child  might  be  character- 
ized as  lazy,  bad,  ne'er-do-well,  careless,  shiftless,  but 
not  as  feeble-minded.  This  failure  to  perceive  the 
true  condition  of  the  great  number  of  defectives 
whom  we  now  call  morons,  of  course,  contributed  to 
the  view  of  the  idiot  and  imbecile  as  a  separate 
species.  The  morons,  who  bridge  the  span  between 
the  dull  and  the  imbecile,  were  not  perceived  for  what 
they  are.  The  moron  is  not  perceived  in  any  true  or 
useful  sense  even  to-day,  except  where  the  meaning 
of  mental  measurement  is  understood.  The  mental 
survey  and  the  mental  clinic  have,  however,  revealed 
him,  and  have  shown  where  he  stands  on  the  contin- 
uous curve  of  intellect,  which  includes  all  human 
beings. 

We  may  appeal  also  to  statistics.  If  it  be  true  that 
the  feeble-minded  form  but  the  lower  end  of  the  nor- 
mal distribution  curve,  we  shall  expect  their  fre- 
quency to  decrease  as  the  degree  of  their  defect  be- 
comes greater.  In  other  words,  we  shall  expect  to 
find  fewer  imbeciles  than  morons,  and  fewer  idiots 


90      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

than  imbeciles;  for  within  the  same  species,  the  fre- 
quency decreases  as  individuals  are  removed  farther 
and  farther  from  the  norm. 

All  statistics  of  the  subject  show  that  there  are  in 
fact  fewer  imbeciles  than  morons,  and  fewer  idiots 
than  imbeciles.  The  figures  of  the  Royal  Commis- 
sion of  Great  Britain  may  serve  as  a  sample.  This 
Commission,  using  the  social-economic  criterion  of 
mental  deficiency,  found  in  the  districts  surveyed  by 
them,  585  idiots,  1007  imbeciles,  and  9728  feeble- 
minded (morons).  This  is  just  what  we  should  ex- 
pect to  find  if  the  feeble-minded  are  .continuous  with 
the  normal  in  mental  ability. 

It  is  a  familiar  fact  to  clinicians  that  there  are 
scores  of  individuals  who  will  be  classified  about 
equally  often  as  idiot  or  imbecile,  as  moron  or  "  infe- 
rior," by  persons  of  equal  competence  in  diagnosis, 
when  the  method  of  mental  measurement  is  not 
used.  This  fact  is  in  itself  an  indication  of  the  con- 
tinuity of  normal  with  moron,  of  moron  with  imbe- 
cile, and  of  imbecile  with  idiot,  since  there  is  no  dif- 
ferentiating symptom  whereby  these  "  border-line  " 
cases  can  be  classified.  The  very  existence  of  "  bor- 
der-line "  cases  in  itself  suggests  that  all  belong  to  the 
same  mental  species. 

Implications  for  Education.  This  fact  that  the 
feeble-minded  are  different  from  average  children 
not  in  kind,  but  in  degree  only,  is  of  fundamental  im- 
portance for  education;  for  it  follows  that  no  mys- 


ARE   THE   DEFECTIVE  A  SEPARATE   SPECIES?      91 

terious  or  unique  matter  or  method  is  necessarily  re- 
quired in  the  task  of  training  them.  They  can  learn 
the  same  things  that  other  children  learn,  up  to  the 
limits  of  their  capacity.  We  need  not  look  about 
for  unique  "  physiological  methods,"  "  linguistic 
methods,"  or  "  medico-pedagogical  methods,"  nor 
may  we  hope  for  any  special  results  from  them.  The 
feeble-minded  differ  from  ordinary  children  only  in 
amount  of  ability,  not  in  the  kind  of  abilities  which 
they  possess. 

A  feeble-minded  child,  of  whatever  chronological 
age,  if  he  has  a  mental  level  of  seven  years,  is  capable 
of  acquiring  the  information  that  is  acquirable  by  the 
average  seven-year-old  child.  A  feeble-minded 
child,  of  whatever  chronological  age,  can  do  the  work 
of  the  average  second  grade  in  public  school,  if  his 
mental  age  is  as  much  as  seven  years.  He  may 
be  taught  by  the  methods  and  with  the  materials 
suitable  to  children  of  about  the  age  where  he  grades 
mentally.  Feeble-minded  children  of  high  grade  may 
be  taught  even  the  subjects  given  in  the  fourth,  fifth 
and  sixth  grades  of  the  public  school,  provided  only 
that  they  remain  in  school  till  they  are  adult,  and 
have  reached  their  ultimate  mental  level.  As  no 
one  is  technically  called  feeble-minded  whose  ulti- 
mate intellectual  level  is  over  twelve  years,  none  of 
the  feeble-minded  will  be  able  to  perform  school  work 
above  the  sixth  grade,  no  matter  how  long  they  re- 
main in  school.  Thus  it  is  a  question  whether  it  is 


92      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

expedient  to  spend  the  school  years  of  the  defective 
in  the  performance  of  conventional  school  work,  even 
though  he  is  capable  of  grasping  it  up  to  a  certain 
point. 

It  is  not  the  province  of  psychology,  however,  to 
dictate  or  to  state  the  curriculum  which  shall  be  es- 
tablished for  the  feeble-minded.  This  is  a  matter 
that  must  be  decided  on  the  basis  of  social  aims. 
From  the  viewpoint  of  social  expediency,  which  al- 
ways implies  also  the  welfare  of  the  individual,  it 
may  be  that  the  feeble-minded  should  be  trained  in 
manual  labors  only,  and  that  no  time  should  be  spent 
in  teaching  them  to  perform  the  fundamental  opera- 
tions in  arithmetic.  Or  it  may  be  that  social  expe- 
diency demands  that  all  of  the  feeble-minded  who 
can  learn  to  "  read,  write,  and  cipher  "  be  taught  to 
do  so. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  educators  have  not  yet  reached 
a  final  decision  as  to  the  curriculum  which  may  most 
profitably  constitute  the  education  of  the  defective. 
The  task  of  psychology  in  any  event  is  to  tell  what 
the  defective  can  do,  in  case  society  decides  that  it  is 
best  that  this  or  that  should  be  undertaken.  And 
therefore  we  say,  as  Binet  said,  "  The  arsenal  of  their 
intellect  is  equipped  with  all  the  weapons,"  only  the 
"  weapons  "  are  poor,  inferior,  not  very  dependable. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Binet,  A.,  and  Simon,  Th.,  The  Intelligence  of  the  Feeble- 
Minded.  Trans,  by  E.  Kite.  The  Training  School.  Vineland, 
N.  J.  1910. 


ARE   THE   DEFECTIVE   A   SEPARATE   SPECIES  ?      93 

2.  Goddard,  H.  H.,  Two  Thousand  Normal  Children  Tested  by 
the  Binet   Measuring  Scale   of   Intelligence.    Pedagogical   Semi- 
nary.   1911. 

3.  Kelly,  R.  L.,  Psychophysical  Tests  of  Normal  and  Abnormal 
Children.    Psychological  Review.    1903. 

4.  Norsworthy,    N.,   The    Psychology   of    Mentally   Deficient 
Children.    Archives  of  Psychology.    1906. 

5.  Seguin,  E.,  Idiocy  and  Its  Treatment  by  the  Physiological 
Method.    First  published  in  1864.    Reprinted  by  Teachers  Col- 
lege, Columbia  University.    1907. 

6.  Terman,  L.  M.,  The  Distribution  of  Intelligence.     (Stan- 
ford Revision  and  Extension  of  the  Binet-Simon  Scale  for  Meas- 
uring Intelligence.)     Warwick  and  York.    Baltimore.    1917. 

7.  Witmer,  L.,  Clinical  Psychology.    The  Psychological  Clinic. 
March,  1907. 


CHAPTER  VI 

"ARRESTED  DEVELOPMENT" 

What  Does  Arrested  Development  Mean?  Can 
this  term  be  applied  to  describe  the  condition  of  the 
feeble-minded  in  any  true  scientific  or  psychological 
sense?  It  is  true  that  in  speaking  of  the  subnormal, 
the  term  "  arrested  development "  has  been  very  fre- 
quently used.  We  may  cite  such  examples  as  the 
following:  "  A  general  arrest  of  development  involv- 
ing all  the  psychic  functions;  three  degrees  are  usu- 
ally recognized:  idiocy,  imbecility,  and  feeble-mind- 
edness."  *  "  Atrophy  of  attention  is,  therefore,  the 
most  important  symptom  of  arrest  of  psychic  devel- 
opment." 2  "  Imbecility  as  described  here  is  re- 
garded as  the  final  expression  of  the  '  degeneration  ' 
of  the  stock.  It  is  a  spontaneous  arrest  of  mental 
development  due  to  inherent  factors."  3  .  .  . 

Now,  if  the  words  "  arrested  development "  are  to 
be  used  in  describing  the  psychology  of  the  feeble- 
minded, it  is  necessary  to  define  them  clearly,  as 

1  R.  de  Fursac.    Manual  of  Psychiatry.    Trans,  by  A.  J.  Rosa- 
noff.    J.  Wiley  and  Sons.    New  Yprk.    1913. 

2  P.  Sollier.    Psychologic  de  1'idiot  et  de  1'imbecile.    F.  Alcan. 
Paris.     1901. 

3  E.  F.  Ballard.    An  Epitome  of  Mental  Disorders.    P.  Blakis- 
ton's  Son  and  Company.    Philadelphia.     1917. 

94 


"ARRESTED   DEVELOPMENT"  95 

they  may  not  have  the  same  meaning  to  all  persons 
using  them. 

The  Limits  of  Physical  Growth  in  Human  Beings. 
Everyone  is  familiar  with  the  fact  that  physical  de- 
velopment ceases  in  human  beings  with  the  attain- 
ment of  adulthood.  At  the  end  of  the  period  of 
adolescence  we  say  of  the  individual  that  he  "  has 
his  growth."  In  this  matter,  as  in  all  others,  there 
are  considerable  individual  differences.  Some  attain 
full  physical  growth  relatively  early  in  the  teens; 
while  others  continue  to  grow  a  little  after  the  age  of 
twenty  years.  Teachers  are  usually  familiar  with 
curves  of  physical  growth,  like  those  in  Figure  7, 
which  show  the  average  increase  of  height  in 
growing  children,  year  by  year.  As  children  ap- 
proach the  later  teens  the  curve  of  physical  growth 
rises  more  and  more  slowly,  until  finally  it  turns  on 
the  level,  rising  no  further,  and  the  children  "  have 
their  growth."  It  is  true  that  as  years  pass  there  are 
further  increments  of  weight  in  human  beings. 
These  increments  are  not,  however,  due  to  growth, 
but  to  deposits  of  fat  in  the  tissues. 

It  is  not  known  exactly  at  what  age  the  average 
curve  for  physical  growth  ceases  to  rise,  because  it 
is  very  difficult  to  follow  adolescents  after  they  leave 
high  school,  which  is,  on  the  average,  at  eighteen  years. 
It  will  be  seen  that  there  is  very  little  development 
after  the  average  age  of  sixteen  years.  It  is  probable 
that,  on  the  average,  growth  (proliferation  and  en- 


96      PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 


largement  of  body  cells)  has  ceased  entirely  by  the 
age  of  twenty  years. 


92     10*      II2     !22     132     142     I52     162     172 


GIRLS 
BOYS 


I          i          i 


NORMAL  GROWTH  IN  HEIGHT 
(Baldwin) 


AGES  IN  YEARS  AND  HALF  YEARS 


72 


-  70 

-  68 

-  66 

-  64 

-  62 

-  60 

-  58 
-56 

-  54 

-  52 
-50 

-  48 
-46 
-44 

-  42 
-40 


38 


5*      62      7a      82      92     102     II2     122    132     142    152     182    17" 
FIG.  7.  —  Curves  showing  the  normal  increases  in  height,  in  growing 
children,    year   by   year.     (From   Baldwin.     Reproduced    by    courtesy 
of  Prof.  Bird  T.  Baldwin.) 

The  Limits  of  Mental  Growth.    The  facts  of  phys- 
ical development  have  been  called  to  attention,  in 


"ARRESTED   DEVELOPMENT"  97 

order  to  clarify  the  understanding  of  certain  facts  of 
mental  growth,  which  are  less  familiar.  We  are  ac- 
customed to  think  of  human  beings  as  "  having  their 
growth  "  physically  by  the  end  of  adolescence,  but 
persons  in  general  have  very  vague  and  erroneous 
ideas  about  the  limits  of  mental  growth.  When 
asked  unexpectedly,  "  When  do  human  beings  cease 
to  grow  mentally?  "  the  members  of  a  graduate  class 
in  psychology  gave  a  great  variety  of  replies.  Sev- 
eral upon  reflection  said  they  had  no  idea;  others 
said  that  human  beings  never  cease  to  grow  men- 
tally; others  gave  forty  years  as  the  limit;  others, 
thirty-five  years;  others,  thirty.  There  was  much 
confusion  as  to  the  interpretation  of  the  words  "  men- 
tal growth,"  many  identifying  the  term  with  learning 
and  education. 

This  state  of  affairs  in  a  graduate  class  in  psychol- 
ogy is  not  surprising,  because  the  attempt  to  estab- 
lish the  limits  of  mental  growth  is  a  very  recent  en- 
terprise of  experimental  psychology.  By  mental 
growth  is  meant  that  gradual  increase  of  capacity 
for  learning,  which  comes  as  a  result  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  nervous  system,  apart  from  all  training. 
The  nervous  system,  which  is  the  physiological  basis 
of  mental  life,  does  not  continue  to  grow  indefinitely. 
Like  all  other  tissues  of  the  body,  it  "  gets  its 
growth."  Since  it  is  impossible  for  psychologists  to 
observe  and  measure  directly  the  course  of  growth  of 
the  nervous  system  in  living  children,  they  measure 


98     PSYCHOLOGY   OP   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

it  indirectly  by  measuring  behavior.  Behavior  is 
measured  by  means  of  mental  tests,  as  already  de- 
scribed in  the  chapter  on  this  subject. 

When  mental  growth  is  thus  measured,  we  find,  as 
in  the  case  of  physical  growth,  that  the  curve  rises 
rapidly  at  first,  and  gradually  approaches  a  level, 
above  which  it  finally  ceases  to  rise  further,  as  shown 
in  Figure  8.  It  cannot  be  stated  at  present  just  when 
mental  growth  ceases,  on  the  average.  (There  are, 
of  course,  individual  differences.)  Dr.  Terman  was 
unable  to  obtain  any  rise  in  performance  in  general 
intelligence  tests  after  the  age  of  sixteen  years. 
More  recently,  the  mental  tests  in  the  army  seem  to 
indicate  that  the  limits  of  mental  growth  are  reached, 
on  the  average,  between  thirteen  and  fourteen  years. 

These  observations  are  in  substantial  agreement 
with  such  measurements  of  brain  weight  as  neurolo- 
gists have  been  able  to  make.  It  appears  that  the 
brain  reaches  its  maximum  weight  at  approximately 
the  age  of  thirteen  years,  on  the  average. 

Although  we  are  not  as  yet  justified  in  stating  on 
the  basis  of  experimental  evidence  exactly  the  age 
when  mental  growth  ceases  on  the  average,  we  are 
justified  in  stating  that  it  most  probably  lies  between 
thirteen  and  twenty  years.  Thus  development  is 
normally  "  arrested  "  in  all  human  beings  between 
these  limits.  Such  advantage  as  the  average  forty- 
five-year-old  has  over  the  average  twenty-year-old 
in  the  management  of  affairs  consists  in  additional 


9         10         11        12        13         14        15     A<f. 


GIRLS 
BOYS 


NORMAL  GROWTH  IN  ABILITY  TO  PERFORM 
THE  PICTORIAL  COMPLETION  TEST 

(Pintner  and  Anderson) 


6 


10        11        12        13 


14 


15      Ad. 


FIG.  8.  —  Curves  showing  the  normal  increases  in  ability  to  perform 
the  pictorial  completion  test,  year  by  year,  in  growing  children.  (From 
Pintner  and  Anderson.  Reproduced  from  The  Pictorial  Completion 
Test,  by  special  arrangement  with  Warwick  and  York.) 

99 


100     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

knowledge,  experience,  and  helpful  specific  habits,  — 
not  in  additional  capacity  for  learning  new  things, 
which  are  equally  unfamiliar  to  both. 

In  this  sense  the  feeble-minded  individual  who  is 
adult  may  be  called  a  case  of  "  arrested  develop- 
ment," just  as  every  other  adult  may  be  referred  to 
as  "  arrested."  It  is  to  be  feared,  however,  that  the 
term  is  used  in  the  case  of  the  feeble-minded  with  a 
connotation  quite  different  from  this.  It  is  used  in 
a  sense  which  would  imply  that  those  using  it  believe 
that  the  defective  child  follows  the  usual  course  of 
development  up  to  a  certain  level,  and  then  stops 
there;  so  that  psychologically  he  remains  thereafter 
in  the  mental  state  of  a  child  of  that  age  at  which  the 
alleged  "  arrest "  took  place.  This  use  of  the  words 
"  arrested  development "  implies  a  preformed  idea 
of  a  completed  being,  toward  which  the  organism 
was  tending,  and  toward  which  it  actually  tended 
till  a  certain  point  in  its  course,  when  it  stopped  and 
remained  forever  uncompleted.  So  one  often  hears 
such  phrases  as  "  never  developed  mentally  after  the 
age  of  five  years,"  "  stopped  growing  intellectually 
at  eight,"  and  the  like. 

Now,  if  the  defective  is  a  case  of  "  arrested  devel- 
opment "  in  this  sense  psychologists  would  expect  to 
find,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  defective  of  whatever 
age  is  a  duplicate  of  the  normal  child  of  his  mental 
level,  in  respect  to  mental  traits;  in  the  second 
place,  they  would  expect  to  find  that  defectives  show 


"ARRESTED    DEVELOPMENT"  101 

normal  progress  up  to  the  point  at  which  the  al- 
leged "  arrest  "  takes  place ;  and  in  the  third  place, 
they  would  expect  to  find  that  mental  growth  ceases 
altogether  at  the  age  of  arrest,  and  does  not  continue 
up  to  the  age  of  later  adolescence,  as  in  the  case  of 
other  children.  If  these  conditions  cannot  be  veri- 
fied by  research,  the  term  "  arrested  development " 
has  no  significance,  and  cannot  be  applied. 

Are  the  Mental  Traits  of  the  Feeble-Minded 
the  Same  as  Those  of  Normal  Children  of  Equal 
Mental  Level  f  The  psychological  methods  of  men- 
tal measurement  make  it  possible  to  work  out  quite 
exactly  the  comparison  between  the  intellectual 
condition  of  defectives  and  of  normal  children  of  the 
various  ages,  which  correspond  to  their  mental  ages. 
This  question  at  present  affords  a  fruitful  field  for  re- 
search. There  are  certain  specific  habits  and  pieces 
of  information  which  form  a  part  of  the  mental  con- 
tents of  an  adolescent  or  adult  defective  whose  men- 
tal age  is  seven  years,  which  do  not  form  a  part  of 
the  mental  contents  of  normal  seven-year-old  chil- 
dren, simply  because  the  former  have  lived  many 
years  at  the  seven-year  level,  while  no  normal  child 
ever  lives  more  than  a  few  months  at  a  mental  age 
of  seven  years.  If  the  normal  child  of  seven  could 
by  some  miracle  remain  normal  and  seven  for  ten  or 
fifteen  years,  he  also  would  acquire  such  habits  and 
information,  no  doubt;  but  as  it  is  he  does  not  ac- 
quire them.  It  is  furthermore  true  that  the  instincts 


102     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

undergo  development  in  adolescent  and  adult  de- 
fectives, which  they  have  not  undergone  in  normal 
seven-year-olds.  This  also  produces  differences  in 
the  mental  traits  of  the  two  groups. 

It  remains  for  experimental  psychology  to  work  out 
in  detail  the  comparison  between  defectives  and  nor- 
mal children  of  various  mental  ages.  Similarity  in 
mental  age  may  mean  simply  similarity  of  capacity 
for  learning,  similarity  of  capacity  for  comprehend- 
ing the  environment,  with  similarity  in  few  other 
respects. 

Do  Defectives  Progress  Normally  to  a  Certain 
Point,  and  Then  Suffer  Arrest  f  With  respect  to  the 
second  point  of  interest,  i.e.  does  normal  progress  take 
place  up  to  the  stage  at  which  the  alleged  arrest  oc- 
curs? we  must  state  that  such  is  not  the  case.  The 
histories  of  feeble-minded  and  dull  children  typically 
show  that  they  are  inferior  and  below  par  from  the 
beginning.  There  is  a  very  close  relationship  be- 
tween lateness  of  walking  and  talking  and  inferior- 
ity of  intelligence,  as  later  ascertained.  The  same  is 
true  of  all  the  important  processes  of  development, 
—  dentition,  sitting  up,  creeping,  grasping,  learning 
to  be  clean  in  personal  habits.  The  subnormal  child 
is  behind  the  average  from  the  beginning  of  his  ca- 
reer. He  is  inferior  from  his  birth,  and  suffers  no 
arrest  of  a  development  which  was  progressing  nor- 
mally. This  is  true  of  all  but  the  small  group  of 
cases  where  deficiency  is  due  to  disease,  which  will 
be  discussed  later, 


"ARRESTED   DEVELOPMENT"  103 

A  few  developmental  histories,  chosen  at  random 
from  among  defective  children,  will  serve  as  concrete 
illustrations  of  this  point.  R.  H.,  a  child  twelve 
years  old,  measures  seven  years  two  months  on 
the  scale  of  intelligence.  His  intelligence  quo- 
tient is  therefore  60.  He  did  not  begin  to  walk 
until  he  was  two  years  old,  and  did  not  talk  un- 
til he  was  four  years  old.  He  has  always  been  back- 
ward in  school  status.  F.  McB.,  a  girl  fourteen 
years  old,  measures  nine  years  four  months  on  the 
scale  of  intelligence.  Her  aunts  report  that  she  was 
always  "  slow  to  get  on,"  though  her  mother,  who 
is  also  feeble-minded,  noticed  nothing  wrong  with 
her.  Her  school  record  from  the  age  of  six  years  is 
one  of  chronic  retardation.  At  her  present  age  she 
has  attained  the  sixth  grade,  where  she  is  incapable 
of  doing  the  work.  If  measurements  could  have 
been  made  of  the  mental  development  of  these  chil- 
dren from  birth  they  would  undoubtedly  have  shown 
curves  rising  constantly,  but  more  slowly  than  the 
average  curve. 

Tredgold  states  that  in  his  experience  he  has  met 
with  a  very  few  cases  in  which  he  could  elicit  no  facts 
showing  slowness  of  development  in  the  earliest 
years  of  life,  and  in  which  the  deficiency  seemed 
really  to  have  manifested  itself  first  after  childhood 
was  somewhat  advanced.  It  is  probable,  however, 
that  psychological  measurement  would  have  shown 
the  inferiority  to  have  been  present  from  birth. 


Parents  of  defectives  often  do  not  notice  anything 
unusual  about  the  development  of  their  offspring,  in 
the  first  place,  because  few  parents  are  well  informed 
as  to  what  constitutes  the  course  of  normal  develop- 
ment, and  in  the  second  place,  because  parents  see 
their  children  as  they  wish  them  to  be,  rather  than 
as  they  are.  In  the  case  of  defectives  an  additional 
source  of  unreliability  in  parental  statements  enters, 
namely,  the  fact  that  the  parents  of  defectives  are 
often  themselves  defective,  and  are  as  incapable  of 
giving  information  about  the  development  of  their 
children,  as  they  are  incapable  of  giving  information 
about  things  in  general.  Also  it  is  true  that  the 
milder  the  degree  of  deficiency,  the  more  nearly  does 
the  individual  approximate  the  course  of  normal  de- 
velopment ;  so  that  common  observation  might  never 
find  anything  noticeable  in  the  development  of  mo- 
rons and  border-line  cases. 

The  unhappy  parents  of  subnormal  children,  cast- 
ing about  for  a  cause  of  the  condition  which  shall  be 
extrinsic,  and  not  referable  to  heredity,  are  prone  to 
mistake  this  infantile  backwardness  for  the  cause  of 
the  later  noticed  intellectual  weakness.  They  some- 
times say,  "  Of  course  you  must  consider  the  fact 
that  so-and-so  did  not  sit  up  or  cut  a  tooth  till  he  was 
over  a  year  old,  and  of  course  that  caused  him  to  be 
backward."  But  infantile  subnormality  is  not  the 
cause  of  subsequent  inferiority.  It  is  part  and  par- 
cel with  it.  The  intellectual  feebleness  of  the  defec- 


"ARRESTED   DEVELOPMENT"  105 

tive  adult  is  merely  a  continuation  of  his  infantile 
backwardness.  Those  who  are  destined  to  go 
through  life  with  subnormal  intelligence  begin  to 
show  the  fact  at  an  early  age. 

How  Long  Do  the  Feeble-minded  Continue  to 
Develop  Mentally?  Do  the  defective  cease  to  grow 
mentally  at  a  relatively  early  age?  Or  do  they  go 
on  like  others,  developing  until  adolescence  is  reached 
or  passed? 

Measurements  repeated  for  several  years  at  Train- 
ing Schools *  show  that  feeble-minded  children  con- 
tinue to  grow  mentally  until  well  advanced  in  ado- 
lescence. They  develop  very  slowly,  as  compared 

1  In  response  to  a  request  for  information  on  this  point,  the 
following  letter  was  received  from  Dr.  F.  Kuhlmann,  Director  of 
Research  at  The  Minnesota  School  for  Feeble-Minded : 

"  We  have  been  making  the  re-examinations  of  our  inmates 
every  two  years  since  1910,  with  the  exclusion  of  the  cases  with 
mentality  below  three,  and  any  chronological  age  over  twenty. 
I  have  planned  to  continue  these  re-examinations  for  a  ten-year 
period  before  working  up  the  results.  We  made  one  or  two  pre- 
liminary tabulations  a  few  years  ago,  and  it  seems  that  the  gen- 
eral results  will  probably  be  as  follows: 

"  On  the  whole  the  IQ  for  a  given  case  remains  constant,  with 
a  slight  tendency  on  the  average  to  decrease  after  the  ages  of 
about  nine  and  ten.  To  this  general  rule  there  are  quite  a  num- 
ber of  individual  exceptions.  A  good  many  cases  deteriorate,  for 
whom  the  IQ  will  then  drop  very  suddenly,  and  this  may  be  at 
any  age.  In  a  smaller  number  of  cases  the  IQ  increases  with 
age,  very  markedly  in  rare  instances,  more  or  less  frequently  in  a 
degree  which  may  be  a'ccounted  for  possibly  by  an  increasing 
familiarity  with  the  mental  tests  through  repeated  examinations. 
Also  there  seems  to  be  the  tendency  for  the  mental  ages  to  in- 
crease very  slightly  beyond  the  chronological  ages  of  fifteen  or 
sixteen." 


106     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

with  normal  children,  gaining  only  a  few  months  in 
a  year.  Toward  the  end  of  the  period  of  growth  the 
rise  in  the  curve  is  barely  perceptible,  so  that  the  in- 
telligence quotient  (relation  of  mental  age  to  actual 
age)  becomes  slightly  lower  as  time  elapses.  Never- 
theless, growth  does  not  cease  entirely  until  child- 
hood has  passed. 

Thus  we  can  never  say  of  a  feeble-minded  child 
that  the  limit  of  development  has  been  certainly 
reached,  until  the  years  of  adolescence.  The  feeble- 
minded grow  mentally  more  slowly  than  the  average, 
and  they  never  attain  the  average  status,  which 
marks  the  final  limits  of  growth,  but  they  continue 
their  meager  development  until  childhood  is  passed. 
They  do  not  cease  to  grow  mentally  at  five  years, 
or  at  six  years,  or  at  any  other  year  in  early  child- 
hood, though  it  is  probable  that  the  age  of  final  cessa- 
tion of  growth  will  be  found  to  be  the  earlier  the 
more  inferior  the  child. 

True  Cases  of  Arrested  Development.  It  has  al- 
ready been  stated  that  a  small  percentage  of  mental 
deficiency  is  produced  by  some  external  factor,  act- 
ing upon  a  child  who  but  for  this  misfortune  would 
have  been  of  average  or  superior  mentality.  Sup- 
pose a  child  of  four  years,  testing  normal  on  the  scale 
of  intelligence,  to  suffer  fracture  of  the  skull,  with  in- 
jury to  the  brain ;  or  suppose  a  child  of  three  years, 
of  superior  intelligence,  to  develop  encephalitis  (in- 
flammation of  the  brain).  Such  a  child  recovering 


"ARRESTED    DEVELOPMENT"  107 

from  his  illness  might  never  develop  mentally  be- 
yond the  point  at  which  his  misfortune  overtook 
him.  Doubtless  such  a  case  could  truly  be  described 
as  "  arrested  development,"  though  there  might  be 
uncertainty  of  real  applicability  even  here. 

Summary  of  the  Facts.  The  term  "  arrested  de- 
velopment "  cannot  be  used  to  describe  the  condition 
of  the  feeble-minded  in  any  true  scientific,  psycho- 
logical sense  (except  possibly  in  the  few  cases  which 
are  the  result  of  accident  or  disease).  It  is  a  mean- 
ingless expression,  because  the  feeble-minded  develop 
as  all  other  human  beings  do,  throughout  the  years 
of  childhood,  although  they  develop  more  slowly 
than  normal  children  do,  and  never  attain  the  status 
which  is  attained  by  the  normal  population  at  the 
final  limits  of  growth.  They  are  just  as  truly  com- 
pleted when  adult  as  are  other  human  beings,  but 
they  are  inferior  in  mental  capacity. 


REFERENCES 

1.  Baldwin,  B.  T.,  A  Measuring  Scale  for  Physical  Growth 
and  Physiological  Age.    Fifteenth  Year  Book.    Part  I.    National 
Society  for  the  Study  of  Education.     1916. 

2.  Binet,  A.,  and  Simon,  Th.,  The  Development  of  Intelli- 
gence in  Children.    Translated  by  E.  Kite.    The  Training  School. 
Vineland,  N.  J.    1916. 

3.  Bolton,  T.  L.,  The  Growth  of  Memory  in  School  Children. 
American  Journal  of  Psychology.     1892. 

4.  Donaldson,  H.   H.,   The   Growth    of  the   Brain.    Charles 
Scribner's  Sons.    New  York.    1895. 

5.  Goddard,  H.  H.,  Psychology  of  the  Normal  and  Sub-Nor- 
mal.   Dodd,  Mead  and  Company.    New  York.    1919. 


108    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

6.  Hollingworth,   H.   L.,   Mental .  Ability   and   Chronological 
Age  in  Adults.    Psychology  of  Functional  Neuroses.     (In  Press.) 

7.  Ladd,  G.  T.,  and  Woodworth,  R.  S.,  Elements  of  Physio- 
logical   Psychology.     The    Macmillan    Company.     New    York. 
1911. 

8.  Pintner,  R.,  and  Anderson,  M.,  The  Pictorial  Completion 
Test.    Warwick  and  York.    Baltimore.    1917. 

9.  Reynolds,  M.  M.,  A  Study  of  the  Heredity  of  Some  Men- 
tally Superior  Children.    Master's  Essay.    Columbia  University. 
1917. 

10.  Terman,  L.  M.,  The  Rate  of  Growth  and  the  Validity  of 
the  IQ.     (Stanford  Revision  and  Extension  of  the  Binet-Simon 
Scale   for   Measuring   Intelligence.)     Warwick   and  York.    Balti- 
more.   1917. 

11.  Terman.    L.    M.,    The    Intelligence    of   School    Children. 
Houghton  Mifflin  Company.    Boston.    1919. 

12.  Town,   C.  H.,  A   Study   of  Speech   Development  in  285 
Idiots  and  Imbeciles.    Psychological  Clinic.    1913. 


CHAPTER   VII 

ARE   THE    FEEBLE-MINDED   EQUALLY   FEEBLE   IN 
ALL   ABILITIES? 

ANOTHER  question  that  presents  itself  as  soon  as 
the  teacher  begins  her  task  of  training  subnormal 
children  is  this:  Are  they  equally  feeble  in  all  re- 
spects? Or  do  they  show  more  or  less  decided  un- 
evenness  in  intellectual  development?  We  say, 
"  The  mind  is  feeble,"  but  we  must  inquire  into  the 
matter  much  more  analytically  than  this,  if  our  in- 
terest is  in  teaching  these  minds.  We  know  that 
average  children  are  by  no  means  equally  capable  in 
all  situations.  Shall  we  expect  that  subnormal  chil- 
dren will  also  have  their  special  strengths  and  their 
special  weaknesses? 

This  question  may  be  taken  up  from  two  stand- 
points. First:  are  the  subnormals  as  a  group  more 
capable  in  certain  traits  than  in  others,  when  com- 
pared with  normal  children?  Second:  is  an  indi- 
vidual defective  equally  weak  in  all  of  his  individual 
capacities? 

Physique.  Since  the  physical  traits  of  the  feeble- 
minded are  to  be  discussed  in  detail  in  a  subsequent 
chapter,  it  will  be  necessary  merely  to  note  here  the 

109 


110    PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

fact  that  physically  they  approach  the  norms.  If  a 
thousand  mentally  subnormal  individuals  are  meas- 
ured and  compared  with  a  thousand  mentally  normal 
individuals  in  any  given  physical  trait,  —  weight, 
height,  cranial  circumference,  and  the  like,  —  the 
amount  of  overlapping  between  the  groups  will  be 
very  great.  Many  of  the  mentally  subnormal  equal 
and  surpass  many  of  the  mentally  normal  in  these 
measurements. 

Sensory  Capacity.  The  power  of  making  sensory 
discriminations  has  frequently  been  stated  to  be  far 
less  acute  in  the  mentally  deficient  than  in  the  intel- 
lectually normal.  It  is  true  that  in  the  very  low 
grades  of  deficiency,  among  idiots,  there  is  often  ex- 
treme defect  of  taste,  and  even  perversion  of  taste. 
(By  defect  is  meant  that  the  capacity  is  diminished, 
while  perversion  means  that  the  individual  actually 
seeks  and  enjoys  those  things  which  in  average  per- 
sons are  abhorrent  to  the  senses.)  Many  idiots  will 
eat  and  drink  anything  that  falls  within  reach.  Their 
only  response  to  psychological  tests  often  is  that  they 
try  to  eat  the  materials  provided.  They  will  chew 
quinine,  soap,  or  sugar,  all  with  equal  enjoyment, 
and  without  giving  any  sign  that  they  distinguish 
among  the  substances.  Some  show  actual  preference 
for  filth. 

Similarly,  with  the  sense  of  smell.  Some  idiots  will 
smell  of  the  most  disgusting  odors  without  discom- 
fited behavior.  Many  can  even  sniff  ammonia, 


IRREGULARITY  OF  ABILITIES  111 

which  in  normal  persons  produces  a  reflex  movement 
away  from  it,  without  apparent  inconvenience. 

Such  sensory  defects  are  noticeable,  however,  only 
among  the  idiots.  As  the  intelligence  approaches' 
normal,  the  response  to  sensory  stimuli  approaches 
normal  also.  It  is  very  difficult  to  make  scientific 
tests  of  sensory  capacity,  because  such  tests  involve 
the  ability  to  comprehend  and  follow  simple  direc- 
tions, which  at  once  involves  the  intelligence.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  make  satisfactory  tests  of  vision 
and  hearing,  for  example,  in  feeble-minded  school 
children,  because  the  examiner  can  scarcely  be  sure 
whether  the  child  really  does  not  see  or  hear  what  is 
presented,  or  whether  he  simply  fails  to  report  on 
it  through  lack  of  intelligence. 

The  general  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  the  ex- 
periments which  have  been  made  on  the  sensory  ca- 
pacities of  mentally  defective  children  is  that  they 
are  not  far  removed  from  the  norms  in  such  capac- 
ities. If  sensory  tests  could  be  devised  which  in- 
volved no  comprehension  or  ability  to  report  on  the 
part  of  the  child,  we  should  probably  find  that  the 
curves  for  the  feeble-minded  overlap  to  a  very  great 
extent  the  curves  for  children  chosen  at  random. 

In  other  words,  the  failure  of  the  feeble-minded 
child  to  learn  the  lessons  which  his  comrades  master 
with  ease  is  not  due  to  the  fact  that  his  sense  organs 
are  less  acute.  The  difficulty  lies  not  in  the  sense 
organs,  but  in  the  ability  to  interpret  and  organize 


112     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

the  sensations  which  he  has.  He  fails  to  learn  to 
read,  not  because  his  retina  is  insensitive  to  black 
and  white,  but  because  he  lacks  the  intellectual  de- 
velopment which  is  prerequisite  to  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  black  marks  which  he  sees.  He  fails  to 
learn  grammar,  not  because  he  cannot  hear  the  sound 
of  the  teacher's  voice,  but  because  he  is  incapable  of 
comprehending  and  organizing  as  part  of  his  mental 
life,  the  remarks  which  she  makes. 

The  fact,  then,  seems  to  be  that  the  feeble-minded 
\  approach  near  to  the  norms  in  sensory  acuity.  This 
conclusion  must  not  be  interpreted  to  mean  that  sen- 
sory defects  are  never  found  among  feeble-minded 
children.  The  feeble-minded,  like  the  normal  and 
superior,  are  subject  to  defects  of  the  special  senses. 
They  may  suffer  from  defective  vision,  from  partial 
deafness,  or  from  any  other  sensory  defect  which 
afflicts  persons  at  large.  Wherever  such  defects  are 
found  they  should,  of  course,  be  corrected  if  they  are 
corrigible. 

Motor  Control.  In  tests  of  motor  control,  as  in 
tests  of  sensory  acuity,  we  meet  the  difficulty  of  elim- 
inating intelligence  as  a  factor  in  the  performance  of 
the  feeble-minded.  Motor  tests  also  involve  the 
ability  to  comprehend.  However,  in  spite  of  this 
difficulty,  we  have  at  our  disposal  for  study  several 
experimental  studies  of  the  motor  equipment  of 
mentally  defective  children. 

In  strength  of  grip,  and  speed  of  voluntary  move- 


IRREGULARITY  OF  ABILITIES  113 

merit,  the  feeble-minded  are  inferior  to  children 
chosen  at  random.  Mead  found  that  feeble-minded 
adolescents,  who  were  farm  laborers  in  their  insti- 
tution, were  decidedly  inferior  in  grip  to  college  stu- 
dents unused  to  manual  work.  Ordahl  and  Ordahl 
ascribe  this  inferiority  in  motor  tests  to  "  lack  of 
energy  and  capacity  for  voluntary  effort  on  the  part 
of  the  feeble-minded,"  who  though  possessing  good 
muscles  are  unable  to  exert  force  in  the  nervous 
control  of  them.  Norsworthy  believed  that  the  ne- 
cessity for  comprehending  exactly  what  is  wanted  in- 
terferes with  the  showing  of  the  feeble-minded  in 
tests  of  motor  control;  that  if  this  factor  could  be 
eliminated,  they  would  approach  very  closely  to  the 
norms. 

Among  defectives  of  the  lowest  grade  a  great  va- 
riety of  motor  anomalies  occur.  Idiots  sometimes 
spend  hours  going  through  series  of  purposeless 
movements.  These  may  involve  one  set  of  muscles, 
or  may  involve  the  whole  body.  A  swaying  motion, 
backward  and  forward,  is  often  seen.  The  idiot  may 
occupy  himself  with  the  so-called  "  polar  bear " 
movement,  stepping  a  few  paces  forward  and  then 
moving  back.  Slapping  his  own  face;  pulling  at 
one  or  both  ears;  grasping  intermittently  at  a  wisp 
of  hair;  stamping  one  foot  suddenly  at  intervals; 
grimacing  and  nodding ;  these  are  a  few  of  the  motor 
phenomena  which  are  met  in  idiots.  The  psychol- 
ogy of  these  peculiar  motor  habits,  sometimes  called 


114    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

tics,  is  little  understood.  Binet  believed  that  these 
tics  are  explainable,  in  part,  in  the  same  way  as  those 
of  certain  blind  persons.  They  are  motor  tendencies 
which  might  arise  in  anyone,  but  normal  persons  ar- 
rest and  suppress  them,  because  they  are  seen  to  be 
unsuitable.  The  idiot  does  not  perceive  his  own  ac- 
tions; or  if  he  does  perceive  that  he  is  moving,  has 
not  intelligence  enough  to  realize  that  such  move- 
ments are  not  socially  approved.  Of  course,  some 
of  the  tics  are  doubtless  reflex  in  character,  and  hence 
cannot  be  controlled. 

Children  showing  these  phenomena  of  movement 
are  usually  below  the  level  of  admission  to  the  pub- 
lic schools.  It  is  in  the  institutions,  where  idiots  are 
collected,  that  we  see  them.  However,  occasionally 
a  feeble-minded  child  of  higher  grade  shows  peculiar 
motor  habits,  such  as  grunting,  tapping  with  his  foot, 
moving  a  quantity  of  saliva  about  in  his  mouth, 
chewing  various  parts  of  his  anatomy.  The  same 
mild  phenomena  occur  among  children  of  all  degrees 
of  intelligence. 

The  general  conclusion  from  the  studies  of  motor 
control  in  the  feeble-minded  is,  then,  that  they  are 
inferior  to  children  chosen  at  random.  But,  al- 
though inferior  on  the  average,  they  approach  much 
nearer  the  norms  in  motor  ability  than  they  do  in 
intellectual  ability.  This  conclusion  has  definite 
implications  for  pedagogy.  For  example,  the  imbe- 
cile does  not  fail  to  write  because  his  hand  is  not  able 


IRREGULARITY  OF  ABILITIES  115 

to  hold  and  guide  a  pen,  though  this  may  enter  as  a 
contributing  difficulty.  The  chief  factor  in  his 
failure  is  the  lack  of  intellectual  development 
which  would  enable  him  to  perceive  meaning  and 
relationship  in  the  symbols  presented  to  him  for 
learning. 

Another  important  implication  for  pedagogy  is 
that  the  feeble-minded  will  be  best  able  to  perform 
those  services  which  call  chiefly  for  motor  response. 
This  has  been  recognized  in  the  curriculum,  which 
has  been  gradually  worked  out  for  mentally  deficient 
children.  The  manual  arts  are  stressed.  It  is  usu- 
ally a  matter  for  astonished  comment  on  the  part  of 
visitors  to  institutions  for  the  feeble-minded  that 
such  children  as  are  detained  there  are  capable  of 
sewing,  cutting,  cooking,  weaving,  and  cabinet-mak- 
ing. These  are  all  processes  which  call  largely  for 
motor  response,  and  when  the  motor  habit  has  once 
been  organized  in  the  nervous  system,  it  makes  very 
little  demand  upon  the  intellect.  Feeble-minded 
children  who  can  never  learn  to  read,  are  often  ca- 
pable of  efficient  knitting,  weaving,  and  cleaning,  be- 
cause they  approach  nearer  to  the  norms  in  motor 
ability  than  they  do  in  intellectual  ability.  They  are 
better  able  to  deal  with  things,  than  with  ideas. 

From  these  generalizations  it  will  not  be  inferred 
that  every  feeble-minded  child,  without  exception, 
is  most  capable  in  manual  processes.  Occasionally 
we  find  a  defective  who  is  weaker  in  motor  control 


116    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

than  he  is  in  the  intellectual  processes.  Such  cases 
are,  however,  rare. 

The  Intellectual  Capacities.  Turning  now  to  the 
intellectual  equipment,  it  has  been  found  by  all  in- 
vestigators that  it  is  in  this  respect  that  the  feeble- 
minded are  farthest  from  the  norms.  It  is,  indeed, 
upon  marked  deviation  from  the  norm  in  this  particu- 
lar that  the  diagnosis  of  mental  deficiency  primarily 
rests.  Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  formulate 
a  satisfactory  definition  of  intelligence.  Binet's  defi- 
nition emphasized  three  phases  of  behavior:  (1)  the 
ability  to  take  and  maintain  a  given  mental  set;  (2) 
the  capacity  to  make  adaptations  for  the  purpose  of 
attaining  a  desired  end;  and  (3)  the  power  of  auto- 
criticism.  Stern  defines  intelligence  as  "  the  general 
capacity  to  adjust  thinking  to  new  requirements:  it 
is  general  adaptability  to  new  problems  and  condi- 
tions of  life."  Witmer  writes:  "  I  have  defined  in- 
telligence as  the  ability  of  an  individual  to  solve 
what  for  him  is  a  new  problem.  A  problem  must  be 
solved,  and  it  must  be  new." 

It  is  difficult  to  arrive  at  an  entirely  satisfactory 
definition  of  intelligence,  —  one  that  will  include  all 
of  the  essential  elements,  and  will  exclude  all  of  the 
inessential  and  irrelevant  elements.  But  certainly 
the  ability  to  adapt  behavior  to  the  successful  attain- 
ment of  desired  ends  is  a  symptom  of  intelligence. 
This  involves  sensitivity  to  all  the  subtle  elements  in 
situations.  In  respect  to  such  sensitivity  and  such 


IRREGULARITY  OF  ABILITIES  117 

power  of  adaptation,  the  feeble-minded  are  far  from 
the  norms.  This  point  can  best  be  understood  by 
means  of  a  few  concrete  illustrations,  based  on  one 
of  Terman's  tests  of  intelligence.  The  following 
situation  was  presented  to  a  number  of  normal  adults 
and  to  a  number  of  feeble-minded  adults : 

"  Let  us  suppose  that  your  baseball  had  been  lost  in  this  round 
field.  You  have  no  idea  what  part  of  the  field  it  is  in.  You  don't 
know  what  direction  it  came  from,  how  it  got  there,  or  with  what 
force  it  came.  All  you  know  is  that  the  ball  is  lost  somewhere  in 
the  field.  Now  take  this  pencil  and  mark  out  a  path  to  show  me 
how  you  would  hunt  for  the  ball  so  as  to  be  sure  not  to  miss  it. 
Begin  at  the  gate,  and  show  me  what  path  you  would  take." 


FIG.  9.  —  Ball-and-Field.  Reduced  one-half  from  standard  size. 
(From  The  Stanford  Revision  of  the  Binet-Simon  Scale  for  Measuring 
Intelligence.) 

In  Figure  10  we  have  the  responses  of  normal  and 
of  feeble-minded  to  this  situation.  One  of  the  most 
common  errors  of  the  latter  consists  in  responding 
to  but  one  or  two  elements  in  the  situation.  Some  re- 
spond only  to  the  element  "  ball  " ;  others  only  to  the 
element  "  mark  out  a  path  " ;  others  of  a  higher  de- 
gree of  capacity  respond  to  all  the  elements,  but  in 
a  relatively  clumsy  and  inefficient  way.  Without 


118    PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

exception  these  persons,  both  normal  and  feeble- 
minded, were  content,  each  with  his  plan.     The  re- 


G  H  I 

FIG.  10.  —  Various  degrees  of  adequacy  in  response  to  Ball-and-Field 
Test.  A,  B,  and  C  are  adult  imbeciles ;  D,  E,  and  F  are  adult  morons ; 
G,  H,  and  I  are  normal  adults. 

sponses  of  the  normal  persons  show  sensitivity  to  all 
the  subtle  elements  in  the  situation,  and  power  to 


IRREGULARITY  OF  ABILITIES  119 

make  a  plan  of  behavior  adapted  to  attain  the  de- 
sired end. 

The  responses  here  illustrated  are  significant  indi- 
cations of  the  quality  of  the  social  adaptations  of  the 
individuals  concerned.  At  the  time  of  testing,  indi- 
vidual A  was  under  arrest  for  burglary  (he  broke  into 
a  freight  car,  because  it  was  cold  and  he  had  no  place 
to  sleep);  B  was  under  arrest  for  petit  larceny;  C 
was  under  arrest  for  assault  and  battery ;  D  was  un- 
der arrest,  charged  with  impairing  the  morals  of  a 
minor;  E  had  married  two  husbands,  both  of  whom 
were  living,  without  the  formalities  of  divorce ;  F  was 
a  drunkard.  G  and  H  were  a  teacher  and  a  clerk  re- 
spectively, neither  of  whom  had  ever  been  arrested. 
I  was  a  man  who  for  a  long  time  had  succeeded  in 
executing  a  clever  fraud. 

Norsworthy  found  that  the  feeble-minded  as  a 
group  draw  farther  and  farther  away  from  the  norms 
as  measurements  are  made  which  are  increasingly 
tests  of  ability  to  deal  with  abstract  ideas. 

"  They  are  two  and  a  half  times  as  far  from  the  median  for 
children  in  general  in  tests  like  the  opposites  test  or  the  genus- 
species  test,  as  they  are  in  tests  like  the  A  test  or  the  perception  of 
weight.  To  speak  of  idiots  as  being  deficient  in  all  the  mental 
powers  gives  a  false  impression.  The  feeble-minded  child  may 
be  weak  on  all  sides  of  his  mental  make-up,  in  the  sense  that  he 
is  not  of  normal  ability  in  any  respect,  but  this  is  not  telling  the 
whole  story.  From  the  point  of  view  of  the  psychologist  and  the 
educator  it  is~TuTIy  as  important  to  know  that  the  ament's  per- 
ceptive powers  are  almost  two  and  a  half  times  as  strong  and 
accurate  as  his  intellectual  powers,  and  almost  half  as  strong 
again  as  his  powers  of  memory,  as  it  is  to  know  that  he  is  weaker 
than  an  ordinary  child  in  all  these  particulars." 


120    PSYCHOLOGY   OP  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

In  regard  to  the  ability  to  perceive  it  is  worth  not- 
ing that  even  low-grade  defectives,  who  are  not  help- 
less and  who  can  walk,  move  about  without  colliding 
with  the  furniture.  So  also  do  very  young  children. 
This  is  proof  that  the  perception  of  objects  in  space, 
with  respect  to  distance  and  direction,  is  developed 
at  a  low  mental  level.  The  same  observations  in  the 
matter  of  perceptual  ability  which  were  made  by 
Norsworthy,  were  later  made  independently  by 
Binet,  in  his  experiments. 

The  Instincts  and  the  Emotions.  Since  it  is  our 
purpose  to  consider  the  instincts  and  emotions  of  the 
mentally  defective  at  some  length  in  a  subsequent 
chapter,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  dwell  upon  the 
subject  here,  except  to  remark  that  in  these  respects 
the  feeble-minded  appear  to  approach  rather  closely 
to  the  norms.  It  is  not  possible  to  conduct  exact 
experimental  investigations  touching  the  instincts 
and  the  emotions,  as  psychology  has  not  as  yet  de- 
veloped any  technique  for  such  experimentation. 
Common  observation,  and  the  statistics  of  their 
crimes  and  misdemeanors,  however,  lead  us  to  be- 
lieve that  among  the  feeble-minded,  intellectual  de- 
ficiency is  not  very  closely  correlated  with  weakness 
of  instinct  and  emotion. 

Is  an  Individual  Defective  Uniformly  Feeble  in 
All  His  Abilities f  Suppose  we  turn  now  from  the 
consideration  of  defectives  as  a  group,  and  consider 
the  case  of  an  individual  defective  child,  with  a  view 


IRREGULARITY   OF  ABILITIES  121 

to  teaching  him.  One  of  the  important  questions 
about  him  is  this:  Is  he  equally  feeble  in  all  of  his 
abilities?  We  know  from  the  fact  that  he  has  a 
mental  age  of  let  us  say  seven  years,  that  he  will  fail 
in  most  situations  requiring  the  exercise  of  an  ordi- 
nary amount  of  abilities  which  develop  above  this 
level.  So  we  are  able  to  place  him  at  once  within  cer- 
tain limits,  when  we  know  his  mental  age.  But  is  it 
true  that  he  will  be  successful  in  all  tasks  at  a  given 
mental  age?  Will  he  fail  in  none  below  this  age? 
Will  he  succeed  in  none  above? 

Unevenness  of  Abilities  as  Shown  by  Intelligence 
Tests.  In  testing  children  for  the  determination  of 
mental  age,  we  find  that  commonly  the  performance 
of  a  given  child,  no  matter  what  may  be  his  intellec- 
tual quality,  touches  several  levels  of  the  intelligence 
scale.  A  child  whose  level  as  finally  determined  is 
eight  years,  for  example,  may  fail  in  some  tasks  at 
the  seven-year  level  and  at  the  same  time  be  able  to 
succeed  in  some  tasks  at  the  nine-year  and  ten-year 
levels. 

On  pages  122-123  we  have  a  photograph  of  the  per- 
formance of  a  mentally  defective  child  as  measured 
on  the  Stanford  Scale.  The  Roman  numerals  indi- 
cate the  age  levels  to  which  the  various  tasks  listed 
are  appropriate.  The  plus  signs  indicate  successful 
responses;  the  minus  signs  indicate  unsuccessful  re- 
sponses. It  can  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  the  re- 
sponses are  scattered  over  more  than  one  level  of 


122    PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 


efficiency,  though  within  fairly  narrow  limits.    The 
child  is  not  equally  feeble  in  all  his  capacities. 


I.    Put*  o<  body.    No 
>.    Name,  objects. 
J      Picture..     • 


YEAR  HI. 

_  Eye. .  Mouth  __ 

.  Penny Knife Watch. 


Pencil. .. 


5.  Name — . _ 

6.  Repetto  tyllable 
Al.    Repeat.  3  digit. 


I.  Compare,  line.  _.. 

1.  Form. 

1.  Count.  4  pennies.*. 

4.  Copie.  square 


6.    Repeat.  4  digits 

.Al.     Repeat.  1 2-U  syllable. 


-^-  I.  Comparison  of  weigh 

_f_2.  Color.,    r -H- y 

j  «  <€»thetiocompari«on —  _  p 

I   4.  Defmition..*ChairT»  «if  »y      ... 

-f-5.  Patience  - 

— f-6.  Common* 

Al.  Age 


6.    Repeat.  16-18  pliable. 
Al.     Morning  or  afternoon_ 


FIQ.  11.  —  Typical  record  of  a  defective  child's  performance  on  the 

ties.     (The  birthday  age  of  the 

The  same  fact  may  be  shown  by  the  kind  of  dia- 
gram which  is  sometimes  called  a  psychograph.     In 


IRREGULARITY   OF  ABILITIES  123 

Figure  12,  we  have  a  picture  of  the  performance  of  a 
feeble-minded  girl,  Katie  M .    The  heavy  black 


•J-  4.    Ties 
JJ.5.    DifTi 

—a.    Butterfly  and  fly_ 

-4-h.    Stone  and  egg 

-l-c.    Wood  and  glas 

•4—  6.     Copies  diamond _ _ 

Al.    Repeats  digits  backwards 

.YEAR  ..VIII. 

—  1.     Ball  in  field  (inferior  plan,  or  better).. 

—  2.    Counts  backwards...**, ..» f,  *ft.SS, 
3-    Comprehension.^  a. 

— b 

_4.     Similarities.—VVood  and  roalC M  &&uk   ttf   U, 

—  5.     Definitions.— Balloon  Jo     _. . .„ ..._ 

—Football  Ifan,. -R^cJt.    *t"- 

v»  6.     Vocabulary.....5>......iTBr*lr 

Al.    Six  coins 

Al.    Dictation 


1.  Date. 

2.  Weights. 

4.    Make  change. 

4.    Repeats  4  digits  backwards  . 

i.   Three  words,    a 

b— _, 
c_.._ 

6.    Rhymes,    a 

Al.    Months. 
Al. 


1.  Vocabulary... 

2.  Absurdities,    a. 


3.  Designs....- ., „ . . 

4.  Reading.    Time errors •  memories_ 


6.  Words  (free  association)...,... 

Al.  Repeats  digits...-.,™^^.. 

Al.  Repeats  syllable«._( 

Al.  Form  hnarH       -  •         , 


Stanford  Scale  for  Measuring  Intelligence,  showing  unevenness  of  abili- 
child  is  12  years  2  months). 

line  represents  her  mental  age.    The  dotted  lines  con- 
necting points  above  and  below  this  heavy  line  repre- 


124    PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 


sent  her  performance  in  single  tests  of  mental  and 
motor  ability,  as  named  at  the  foot  of  the  graph. 


CASE  D. 

Name:  K  _  .  M  --      Examined  by  Dr.  H 
Clinical  Date:  Aug.  5,  1916 

Type:  MentM  Defective 


Date  of  Birth:  Aug.  3.  1894 
Education:  Left  school  from  4th 

Class  in  Ireland 
Nationality:  Irish  (in  U.S.A.  4yrs.) 


Adult 

— 

- 

18 

- 

- 

18 

17 

- 

- 

17 

16 

- 

- 

16 

IS 

- 

- 

15 

14 

- 

- 

14 

13 

- 

- 

13 

12 

- 

- 

12 

1" 
in 

— 

— 

11 

t  ft 

|U 

9 

_ 

X/N 

7\ 

1U 

Mental  Age 

8 

-    l 

> 

/x 

Y 

X 

8 
1 

<s 

* 

x        x 

s" 

8 

o 

S 

_ 

_ 

5 

4 

_ 

CO 



4 

i 

3 

— 

o 

— 

3 

2 

- 

CO 

— 

2 

1 

1 

If 

0  "° 

0 

^O 

Is 

E"5 

e 

S  v 

o  .a 

5"5 

O     O 

!« 

c  o 

as"* 

lei 

c  = 

^  0 

fii 

o  2 

"o  ^» 

§"- 

11 

JS 

11 

a. 

E 

13 

1 

•«<S 

O 

FIG.  12.  —  Psychograph  of  a  feeble-minded  adult,  showing  that  she 
is  not  equally  feeble  in  all  abilities. 


Katie  M 


whose  chronological  age  is  twenty- 


two  years,  is  not  normal  in  any  ability  tested;  but 
she  is  measurably  more  capable  in  some  respects  than 
in  others. 

The  Experiments  of  Ordahl  and  Ordahl.    This 


IRREGULARITY  OF  ABILITIES  125 

matter  of  qualitative  differences  between  children 
having  the  same  general  intelligence  levels  was  also 
studied  at  the  State  School  for  the  Feeble-Minded, 
at  Faribault,  Minnesota.  Three  groups  of  defectives 
were  studied,  —  one  group  of  individuals  testing  at 
six  years;  one  group  at  eight  years;  and  one  group  at 
ten  years.  All  of  these  individuals  were  given  spe- 
cial mental  tests.  When  their  performance  was 
scored  it  was  found  that  in  any  given  test  individuals 
showed  a  considerable  amount  of  variation  from  what 
might  have  been  expected  on  the  basis  of  the  general 
intelligence  levels  (mental  ages).  "For  example,  if 
the  averages  of  the  thirty  individuals  are  arranged  in 
order  of  rank  with  respect  to  the  others  in  the  experi- 
ment, one  of  the  six-year-olds  ranks  up  between  the 
tenth  and  twentieth,  two  of  the  eight-year-olds 
twenty-second  and  twenty-third,  and  two  of  the  ten- 
year-olds  down  among  the  lowest  ten  subjects." 

This  unevenness  of  ability  in  any  given  child  is, 
of  course,  the  basis  for  the  use  of  a  great  variety  of 
tests  in  the  determination  of  general  intelligence. 
The  complexity  of  a  human  mind  is  such  that  it  can 
never  be  assayed  by  the  application  of  a  single  test. 

Variability  in  School  Attainment  of  Children  with 
Identical  Mental  Ages.  On  this  particular  point  in- 
vestigators have  as  yet  furnished  us  with  very  little 
information.  The  Department  of  Ungraded  Classes 
in  New  York  City  has  published  a  report  on  eighteen 
mentally  defective  children,  all  having  a  Binet  score 


126    PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

(mental  age)  of  eight  years.  These  children,  all  of 
equal  mental  age,  were  measured  in  ability  to  read 
and  to  do  arithmetic.  The  results  of  these  educa- 
tional measurements  are  given  in  the  following  table, 
compiled  under  direction  of  Miss  Elizabeth  Farrell. 

TABLE  SHOWING  VARIABILITY   OF   CHILDREN  OP  EQUAL  MEN- 
TAL AGE,  IN  READING  AND  ARITHMETIC. 
(From  Farrell.) 


NUMBER  OF  CHILDREN 

READING 

AKITHMBTIC 

9 

0 

0 

4 

— 

0 

2 

0 

j 

2 

I 

Jl 

1 

— 

Total       18 

NOTE  —  0  means  no  deviation  from  the  age-grade  limit  for 
8  years.  #  means  above  the  age-grade  limit  for  8  years.  — 
means  below  the  age-grade  limit  for  8  years. 

We  see  here  that  although  mental  age  is  the  most 
important  single  factor  conditioning  achievement  in 
reading  and  arithmetic,  there  are,  nevertheless,  chil- 
dren whose  performance  is  above  or  below  their  gen- 
eral ability  in  one  of  these  school  subjects,  who  do 
either  surprisingly  well  or  surprisingly  poorly  in  read- 
ing or  arithmetic. 

In  the  prevocational  classes  of  Detroit,  in  which 
the  pupils  are  decidedly  subnormal  in  general  intel- 
ligence, measurements  of  achievement  in  arithmetic, 
reading,  and  language  have  been  made,  and  have 


IRREGULARITY   OP  ABILITIES 


been  related  to  mental  age. 
the  table  which  follows: 


127 
The  result  is  apparent  in 


SHOWING  THE  PUPILS  OF  MENTAL  AGES  VIII,  IX,  AND  X  AS 

THEY  STAND  IN  ARITHMETIC,  READING,  AND  LANGUAGE. 

PREVOCATIONAL  CLASSES,  DETROIT. 

(From  Renshaw) 

The  table  presents  the  percentages  of  pupils  who  in  the  tests 
actually  attained  age  and  grade  scores  equivalent  to  expecta- 
tions from  their  mental  ages. 


M.  A. 

VIII 

IX 

X 

TOTAL 

.  <o 

oM 

A&. 

% 

£5  «! 

w>-< 

VGR. 

• 

U 

«B 

GRADE 

ill 

IV 

V 

- 

- 

- 

- 

1.   Arithmetic      .... 

18.0 

29.0 

11.0 

68 

270 

30 

2 

Less 

than 

2.    Reading     

1.9 

8.8 

2.8 

13.5 

'^51 

86 

1% 

3.    Language  

25.5 

24.0 

10.3 

59.3 

?6? 

269 

13  3' 

4.    Total  Percent  at  M.  A. 

26.6 

36.6 

19.0 

=  82  %  of  all  cases 

Many  similar  studies  should  be  made,  covering  all 
mental  ages,  and  all  school  subjects,  and  giving  the 
amounts  of  deviation  from  expected  score,  with  the 
frequency  of  each  amount.  It  is  possible  that  spe- 
cial abilities  among  defective  children  may  be  de- 
serving of  more  attention  than  has  hitherto  been  ac- 
corded in  education. 

Idiots-Savants.  The  unevenness  of  abilities 
which  characterizes  all  persons  in  some  degree,  is 
strikingly  exemplified  in  the  idiots-savants  (wise 
idiots).  Very  rarely  a  feeble-minded  child  or  adult 


128     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

is  found  who  shows  some  particular  ability  to  a  re- 
markable extent.  Tredgold  tells  of  an  idiot-savant 
who  could  "  remember  the  day  when  every  person 
had  been  buried  in  the  parish  for  thirty-five  years, 
and  could  repeat  with  unvarying  accuracy  the  name 
and  age  of  the  deceased,  and  the  mourners  at  the 
funeral.  But  he  was  a  complete  ament.  Outside 
of  the  line  of  burials  he  had  not  one  idea,  could  not 
give  an  intelligible  reply  to  a  single  question,  nor 
be  trusted  even  to  feed  himself." 

The  special  talents  of  idiots-savants  have  usually 
consisted  in  ability  to  draw,  to  perform  feats  of 
arithmetical  calculation,  to  memorize  by  rote,  or  to 
play  musical  instruments.  Four  idiots-savants  have 
come  within  the  experience  of  the  present  writer. 
The  first  was  a  man,  an  inmate  of  an  institution  for 
the  feeble-minded.  As  this  was  before  the  technique 
of  intelligence  examination  had  been  developed,  his 
mental  level  was  not  known,  but  he  was  very  defi- 
nitely an  institutional  case,  with  stigmata  of  degen- 
eration, and  a  childish  manner.  His  special  ability 
lay  in  the  fact  that  he  could  very  quickly  tell  the  day 
of  the  week  for  any  given  day  of  the  month  and  year, 
and  took  a  great  delight  in  this  performance.  The 
second  was  a  boy,  also  an  inmate  of  an  institution  for 
the  feeble-minded,  whose  mental  level  was  six  years, 
his  chronological  age  being  seventeen  years.  This 
boy's  special  gift  was  musical.  He  could  play  very 
difficult  compositions  on  the  piano,  and  could  repro- 


IRREGULARITY  OF 'ABILITIES  129 

duce  "  by  ear  "  complicated  music  which  he  heard 
played.  In  other  respects  he  was  no  more  competent 
than  a  six-year-old  child.  The  third  was  a  boy  of 
eighteen  years,  whose  mental  level  was  eight  years. 
When  seen  by  the  present  writer  he  was  an  inmate  of 
the  Psychopathic  Ward  of  Bellevue  Hospital  in  New 
York  City,  having  been  arrested  for  vagrancy,  and 
committed  there  for  observation  as  to  his  mental  con- 
dition. His  special  gift  was  the  ability  to  draw  pic- 
tures of  mechanical  objects,  especially  of  locomotives. 
He  occupied  himself  for  hours  during  his  detention 
in  this  fashion,  offering  to  "  do  one  "  for  first  this 
then  that  attendant  on  the  ward,  and  finally  deciding 
to  keep  the  product  himself,  in  every  instance.  The 
fourth  was  a  woman,  about  twenty-five  years  of  age, 
an  inmate  of  an  institution  for  the  feeble-minded. 
She  was  regarded  as  imbecile  in  all  respects  save  one : 
she  could  plan  and  execute  elaborate  designs  in  cro- 
chet. 

It  should  be  emphasized  that  these  cases  of  phe- 
nomenal special  ability,  occurring  in  the  mentally  de- 
fective, are  exceedingly  rare.  Practically  no  scien- 
tific study  has  been  made  of  such  persons,  and  re- 
marks touching  upon  them  are  limited  to  mere  de- 
scription of  their  idiosyncrasies. 

Implications  for  Education.  The  psychological 
facts  which  have  been  set  forth  in  this  chapter  are 
clearly  of  much  value  for  the  education  of  subnormal 
children.  The  implications  may  be  briefly  summa- 


130     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

rized  thus:  (1)  The  feeble-minded  as  a  group,  both 
as  children  and  as  adults,  are  inferior  to  the  norms  in 
all  respects.  (2)  They  are,  however,  not  equally 
far  from  the  norms  in  all  respects.  (3)  They  are 
nearest  to  the  norms  in  physical  size  and  strength,  in 
sensory  acuity,  and  in  motor  control.  (4)  They  are 
farthest  removed  from  the  norms  in  intellectual  ca- 
pacity, especially  in  all  those  subtler  capacities  which 
are  involved  in  abstract  thinking,  and  which  in  nor- 
mal persons  develop  after  the  age  of  childhood. 
(5)  The  feeble-minded  as  a  group  will  therefore 
profit  most  by  instruction  which  will  lead  to  skill 
in  eye-hand  coordinations,  and  in  tasks  where  phys- 
ical and  sensory  capacities  are  useful.  They  will  profit 
least  from  instruction  which  involves  abstract  think- 
ing, and  the  comprehension  of  symbols.  As  adults 
they  will  be  able,  if  properly  taught,  to  perform  many 
useful,  routine  industrial  tasks,  under  supervision. 
These  facts  have  great  significance  for  those  whose 
duty  it  is  to  establish  the  curriculum  for  special 
classes.  (6)  In  any  individual  defective  there  will 
be  found  more  or  less  unevenness  of  abilities.  Very 
few  feeble-minded  children  are  equally  deficient  in 
all  respects.  On  the  other  hand,  very  few  show  ex- 
treme unevenness  of  abilities,  such  as  the  idiots- 
savants  show.  It  is  possible  that  after  much  further 
study  has  been  made  on  this  point,  it  will  appear 
that  education  can  utilize  special  abilities  among  the 
subnormal  more  fully  than  has  been  feasible 
hitherto. 


IRREGULARITY  OF  ABILITIES  131 


REFERENCES 

1.  Bronner,  A.  F.,  The  Psychology  of  Special  Abilities  and 
Disabilities.    Bobbs-Merrill   Co.    Boston.    1917. 

2.  Farrell,  E.  E.,  Variability  in  School  Attainment  in  Read- 
ing and  Arithmetic  of  Children  Who  Have  Identical  Binet  Score 
of  Eight.    Nineteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Superintendent  of 
Schools.    New  York.    1916-1917. 

3.  Galton,  F.,  Notes  on  Prehension  in  Idiots.    Mind.    1887. 

4.  Johnson,  G.  E.,  Contribution  to  the  Psychology  and  Peda- 
gogy of  Feeble-Minded  Children.    Pedagogical  Seminary.    1895. 

5.  Lobsein,  M.,  Einige  Untersuchungen  iiber  das  Gedachtniss 
bei  Schwachbefahigten.    Zeitschrift  fur  Kinderforschung.    1903. 

6.  Mead,   C.  D.,  The  Relation  of  General   Intelligence   to 
Certain  Mental  and  Physical  Traits.    Teachers  College  Contri- 
butions to  Education.    No.  76.    1916. 

7.  Merrill,  M.  A.,  The  Abilities  of  the  Special  Class  Children 
in  the  Three  R's.    Pedagogical  Seminary.    March,  1918. 

8.  Norsworthy,  N.,  The  Psychology   of   Mentally  Deficient 
Children.    Archives  of  Psychology.    Columbia  University.    1906. 

9.  Ordahl,  L.  E.,  and  Ordahl,  G.,  Qualitative  Differences  be- 
tween Levels  of  Intelligence  in  Feeble-Minded  Children,  Journal 
of  Psycho-Asthenics.    June,  1915. 

10.  Otis,  M.,  A  Study  of  Association  in  Defectives.    Journal  of 
Educational  Psychology.    1915. 

11.  Petersen,  A.  M.,  and  Doll,  E.  A.,  Sensory  Discrimination 
in  Normal  and  Feeble-Minded  Children.    Training  School  Bulle- 
tin.   Nov.  and  Dec.,  1914. 

12.  Renshaw,  S.,  The  Measurement  of  Abilities  of  Pupils  in 
the  Prevocational  Classes.    Special  Classes  of  the  Public  Schools 
of  Detroit.    1918. 

13.  Wreschner,  A.,  Eine  Experimentelle  Studie  iiber  die  Asso- 
ciation in  Einem  Falle  von  Idiotie.    Allgemeine  Zeitschrift  fur 
Psychiatric.    Bd.  LVII. 

14.  Wylie,  R.  T.,  Taste  and  Reaction  Time  of  Feeble-Minded. 
Journal  of  Psycho-Asthenics.    Vol.  IV,  3. 

15.  Wylie,  R.  T.,  A  Study  of  the  Senses  of  the  Feeble-Minded. 
Journal  of  Psycho-Asthenics.    Vol.  IV,  4. 

16.  Wylie.  R.  T.,  Motor  Ability  and  Control  of  Feeble-Minded. 
Journal  of  Psycho-Asthenics.    Vol.  V,  2. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

PHYSICAL  TRAITS  OF  THE   FEEBLE-MINDED 

The  Correlation  between  Physical  Traits  and 
Mental  Traits.  The  history  of  human  thought 
shows  many  efforts  to  arrive  at  a  knowledge  of  mental 
traits  by  a  study  of  the  physique  and  physiognomy. 
This  was,  perhaps,  the  most  natural  primitive  ap- 
proach to  the  very  important  problems  involved  in 
"  reading  character."  Few  matters  are  of  greater 
moment  for  any  person  than  the  correct  interpreta- 
tion of  the  mental  life  of  those  about  him.  This  is, 
however,  mysterious  and  hidden ;  it  is  not  presented 
to  the  senses  directly ;  it  can  be  inferred  only  from  in- 
direct manifestations.  In  seeking  to  know  it,  it  was 
very  natural  that  men  should  first  examine  atten- 
tively that  which  they  can  see,  and  which  is  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  mind,  namely  the  body. 
This  method  of  approach  was  finally  systematized  in 
the  pseudo-science  of  phrenology.  According  to 
phrenology,  the  intelligence  of  an  individual,  like 
other  mental  traits,  is  to  be  ascertained  by  measuring 
and  scrutinizing  his  body. 

The  criminology  of  Lombroso  is  based  on  similar 
premises.    Lombroso  was  an  Italian,  who  undertook 

132 


PHYSICAL   TRAITS   OF   THE   FEEBLE-MINDED      133 

the  study  of  criminals  by  the  methods  of  anthropom- 
etry. He  undertook  to  establish  that  "  the  criminal 
type  "  is  to  be  recognized  by  deviations  from  the  nor- 
mal in  proportions  of  physique  and  physiognomy, 
and  by  the  presence  of  anatomical  peculiarities, 
called  stigmata  of  degeneration. 

Subsequent  research  has  shown  that  the  relation 
between  anatomical  and  mental  is  not  very  close, 
and  that  in  any  given  case  the  greatest  possible  er- 
rors may  be  made  in  an  attempt  to  infer  the  one  from 
the  other.  Nevertheless,  when  large  groups  are 
measured  and  treated  statistically,  certain  general 
tendencies  are  seen  to  hold,  on  the  average,  though 
not  with  very  much  reliability  for  single  cases.  It 
will  be  necessary  to  examine  the  facts  somewhat  at 
length,  with  respect  to  the  physical  characteristics  of 
the  mentally  subnormal. 

Height  and  Weight.  It  has  already  been  stated  in 
a  previous  chapter  that  in  physical  development  the 
feeble-minded  as  a  group  approach  much  nearer  to 
the  norms  than  in  mental  development.  When 
curves  of  physical  growth  are  platted  from  the  meas- 
urements of  hundreds  of  feeble-minded  children,  and 
are  then  compared  with  the  curves  of  growth  for 
children  chosen  at  random,  it  is  always  found  that 
the  former  average  shorter  and  lighter  than  the  lat- 
ter, age  for  age.  It  is  seen  furthermore,  that  the  dif- 
ferences increase  with  the  increase  in  degree  of  men- 
tal defect.  Morons  are  slightly  below  the  average 


134     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

for  normals,  imbeciles  are  below  morons,  and  idiots 
are  lowest  of  all. 

These  facts  are  presented  graphically  in  the  charts, 
Figure  13,  which  are  taken  from  the  published  re- 
search of  Dr.  Goddard.  The  upper  curves  represent 
height  in  inches,  and  the  lower  curves  represent 
weight  in  pounds.  The  normal  curves  are  con- 
structed from  data  collected  by  Dr.  Boas,  Dr.  Burk, 
and  Dr.  Donaldson.  The  curves  for  the  feeble- 
minded are  based  on  measurements  of  the  inmates 
of  institutions  scattered  over  the  United  States,  and 
include  5923  individuals.  The  ages  range  from  birth 
to  sixty  years. 

The  total  distributions  from  which  the  averages 
are  made,  are  not  given  by  Dr.  Goddard,  so  that  it  is 
not  possible  to  state  the  exact  amount  of  over-lap- 
ping between  normal  and  feeble-minded,  and  between 
different  degrees  of  feeble-mindedness.  With  aver- 
ages which  approach  each  other  as  closely  as  these 
do,  however,  we  are  safe  in  assuming  that  the  amount 
of  over-lapping  is  very  great;  that  many  of  the 
feeble-minded,  even  those  of  low  grade,  will  be  as 
tall  and  as  heavy  as  the  tallest  and  heaviest  normals, 
age  for  age. 

The  facts  shown  in  the  curves  reproduced  from  Dr. 
Goddard's  study  have  been  verified  by  other  investi- 
gators. It  has  also  been  found  that  in  sitting  height, 
as  in  standing  height,  the  feeble-minded  of  all  grades 
are  below  normal,  on  the  average,  though  with  a 
great  amount  of  over-lapping. 


PHYSICAL   TRAITS   OF   THE    FEEBLE-MINDED      135 
6        8      10       12       14      16       Ifi      20      22      24     Over  24  Years 


66- 


BOYS 


1: 


150 
140 
130 
120 
110 
100 
90 
80 
70 
60 
50 
40 


6        8       10      12      14      16      18      20      22      24     Over  24  Years 
FIG.  13.  —  Curves  showing  the  height  and  weight  of  feeble-minded  in- 
mates of  American  institutions,  as  compared  with  normals,  age  for  age. 
(From  Goddard.     Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  The  Journal  of  Nervous 
and  Mental  Disease.) 

Cranial  Measurements.    Although  the  subject  is 
interesting  and  important,  cranial  development  as 


136    PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

related  to  general  intelligence  has  not  been  very  ex- 
tensively studied,  by  scientific  methods.  Such  re- 
sults as  we  have,  indicate  that  in  cranial  measure- 
ments the  amount  of  over-lapping  between  normal 
and  feeble-minded  is  the  most  conspicuous  feature  of 
comparison.  This  holds  true  of  whatever  measure- 
ment we  consider,  whether  it  be  circumference,  ca- 
pacity, diameters,  or  cephalic  index.  No  diagnosis 
of  mental  deficiency  can  be  made  by  measurement  or 
inspection  of  the  head.  It  is  true  that  in  certain 
cases  of  mental  deficiency,  there  is  marked  deviation 
from  the  normal  in  one  or  more  of  the  cranial  meas- 
urements ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that  a  great  propor- 
tion of  the  feeble-minded  fall  well  within  the  nor- 
mal limits. 

Even  among  children  so  low  in  general  intelligence 
as  to  be  considered  fit  subjects  for  detention  in  an  in- 
stitution, the  Research  Laboratory  at  Vineland  has 
found  that  about  30  percent  fall  within  the  normal 
limits  in  all  cranial  measurements.  About  70  per- 
cent of  the  institutional  cases  lie  outside  the  normal 
limits  in  one  or  more  of  the  measurements  taken, 
which  were,  in  this  instance,  capacity,  diameters,  and 
cephalic  indices.  These  deviating  cases  doubtless  in- 
clude children  suffering  from  such  pathological  con- 
ditions as  hydrocephalus,  though  on  this  point  the  in- 
vestigators have  not  furnished  exact  information. 

Extensive  and  exact  measurements  of  the  cranium 
and  of  general  intelligence,  will  most  probably  yield 


PHYSICAL   TRAITS  "OF   THE    FEEBLE-MINDED      137 

a  result  similar  to  that  yielded  in  the  case  of  height 
and  weight.  There  will  doubtless  be  found  a  differ- 
ence in  the  medians  and  in  the  distribution  of  large 
groups  of  defectives,  as  compared  with  large  groups 
of  normals,  although  with  a  great  amount  of  over- 
lapping between  the  two. 

Vital  Capacity.  Vital  capacity  is  the  measure  of 
the  amount  of  air  that  can  be  held  by  the  lungs  in  a 
single  inhalation.  Measurement  is  made  by  means 
of  an  instrument  called  a  spirometer.  It  has  been 
found  that  the  feeble-minded  have  a  lower  average, 
age  for  age,  than  normals  in  vital  capacity.  Indeed, 
the  correlation  between  vital  capacity  and  mental 
age  as  reported  by  Mr.  Doll  is  very  high  (r=.64). 
This  very  high  correlation  raises  the  question  as  to 
whether  the  lack  of  intelligence  itself  is  not  to  some 
extent  involved  here,  as  ability  to  comprehend  and 
follow  directions  constitutes  a  part  of  the  spirometer 
test.  It  may  be  that  actual  vital  capacity  of  the 
feeble-minded  may  not  be  so  closely  in  correspond- 
ence with  mental  age  as  is  indicated  by  the  figures 
obtained.  Height,  weight,  and  cranial  measurements 
may  be  determined  independently  of  the  ability  of 
those  measured  to  understand  and  follow  directions, 
so  that  no  such  complicating  factor  enters  in  the  case 
of  those  traits. 

Motor  Ability.  Under  the  subject  of  physical 
traits,  motor  ability  is  often  considered.  Motor  con- 
trol has  already  been  considered  in  our  discussion  in 


138     PSYCHOLOGY    OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

Chapter  VII.  It  would  be  superfluous  to  repeat  in 
detail  what  has  been  said.  In  all  tests  of  motor 
strength  and  control  the  feeble-minded  are  inferior 
to  the  normal,  on  the  average,  though  with  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  over-lapping.  In  grip,  in  coordi- 
nation, and  in  speed  of  voluntary  movement  the 
feeble-minded  are  inferior.  The  two  hands  are  more 
nearly  alike  in  the  feeble-minded  than  in  the  normal, 
and  there  is  a  greater  tendency  to  left-handedness  in 
the  former. 

Gait  is  often  awkward  and  shambling  in  the  men- 
tally subnormal.  In  the  lower  grades  of  defect  this 
is  quite  noticeable.  There  is  difficulty  in  learning  to 
hop,  skip,  and  jump,  and  to  go  up  and  down  stairs. 
Quite  often  the  feeble-minded  have  to  be  specifically 
trained  to  do  these  things,  which  normal  children 
learn  to  do  spontaneously. 

Variability.  A  by-product  of  the  various  investi- 
gations in  the  anthropometry  of  the  mentally  defi- 
cient has  been  the  discovery  of  the  fact  that  they  are 
more  variable  in  physical  traits  than  are  normals,  age 
for  age.  A  thousand  mentally  defective  ten-year- 
olds,  for  example,  will  scatter  over  a  wider  range  of 
height  or  of  weight,  or  of  grip  or  of  vital  capacity, 
than  will  a  thousand  ten-year-olds  who  are  mentally 
normal.  This  greater  variability  may  be  due  to  the 
fact  that  secondary  cases,  whose  condition  is  due  to 
a  pathological  cause,  have  been  included  in  the  meas- 
urements. The  inclusion  of  a  score  of  cretins  among 


PHYSICAL   TRAITS   OF   THE    FEEBLE-MINDED      139 

ten  thousand  defectives  will  spread  the  range  down- 
ward in  the  direction  of  shortness,  because  one  of  the 
outstanding  features  of  the  disorder  is  stunted  phys- 
ical growth.  If  all  secondary  cases  were  excluded, 
the  greater  variability  of  the  mentally  deficient,  age 
for  age,  might  disappear  in  anthropometric  tests. 

Stigmata  of  Degeneration.  By  a  stigma  of  degen- 
eration is  meant  a  physical  anomaly,  a  congenitally 
deformed  or  misshapen  part  of  the  anatomy.  Very 
elaborate  tables  of  the  stigmata  of  degeneration  have 
been  compiled  since  the  time  of  Lombroso.  The 
enthusiasm  over  this  phase  of  the  study  of  degener- 
acy has  waned  very  decidedly  in  recent  years,  for  it 
has  been  demonstrated  that  healthy  normal  children 
in  public  elementary  schools,  as  well  as  ordinary, 
competent  members  of  society  in  general,  often  show 
the  presence  of  "stigmata."  In  fact  if  we  were  to 
class  as  "  undesirables  "  all  persons  who  fall  within 
the  categories  prescribed  by  some  writers  on  this 
subject,  few  would  escape.  The  presence  of  a  single 
stigma  cannot  be  regarded  as  significant.  But  Lom- 
broso's  observations  were  not  wholly  invalid.  When 
several  pronounced  stigmata  occur  in  one  individual, 
usually  a  condition  of  mental  subnormality  accom- 
panies. In  other  words,  it  has  been  found  that  stig- 
mata, though  not  by  any  means  confined  to  neuro- 
paths and  mental  defectives,  are  far  more  common 
among  them  than  in  the  population  at  large.  It  is 
true  also  that  in  number  and  severity  they  are 


140    PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

proportionate  to  the  degree  of  defect.  Morons  usu- 
ally have  few  or  no  stigmata;  imbeciles  often  have 
several ;  while  idiots  usually  bear  exterior  anomalies, 
which  accompany  their  mental  status. 

Nearly  any  portion  of  the  anatomy  may  be  in- 
volved so  as  to  become  a  stigma.  Any  feature  which 
is  too  large  or  too  small;  too  thick  or  too  thin;  too 
long  or  too  short ;  misplaced ;  or  otherwise  deviating 
markedly  from  the  usual  may  be  so  classified.  It  will 
suffice  to  call  attention  to  certain  of  the  more  com- 
mon and  gross  stigmata. 

Abnormal  developments  of  the  skeleton  are  often 
seen  among  the  lowest  grades  of  the  feeble-minded. 
The  cranium,  palate,  and  jaws  are  the  parts  most  con- 
spicuously affected.  The  head  may  be  much  too 
small,  or  much  too  large;  it  may  be  asymmetrical 
(one  side  larger  than  the  other) ;  it  may  be  symmetri- 
cal, but  of  peculiar  formation.  Extreme  smallness 
of  the  skull,  with  sloping  forehead  and  receding  chin, 
gives  rise  to  one  so-called  clinical  variety  of  mental 
defect,  namely  microcephaly  (small-headedness). 

In  the  case  of  the  hard  palate,  it  may  be  saddle- 
shaped,  in  which  malformation  it  extends  upward  to 
a  considerable  distance,  where  the  nasal  cavity  is. 
In  consequence  it  appears  like  the  inside  of  a  saddle, 
and  so  derives  its  name.  Or  the  palate  may  be  V-- 
shaped, that  is,  narrowed  to  a  V  as  it  comes  forward. 
In  this  case  we  see  overcrowding  and  protrusion  of 
the  front  teeth.  The  most  thorough  investigations  of 


PHYSICAL   TRAITS   OF   THE   FEEBLE-MINDED      141 

the  palate,  made  by  means  of  instruments  of  pre- 
cision, indicate  that  malformation  is  about  as  com- 
mon among  the  mentally  normal  as  among  the  men- 
tally deficient.  Cleft  palate  and  hare-lip  do  not 
seem  to  be  any  more  frequent  among  the  deficient 
than  among  the  normal,  and  by  some  authorities  are 
not  included  as  stigmata  of  degeneration. 

The  lower  jaws  may  be  either  receding  or  pro- 
truding. Both  of  these  deviations  have  been  called 
stigmata.  As  for  the  teeth,  a  really  good  set  of  teeth 
is  comparatively  rare  in  mental  defectives.  They 
appear  later  than  they  should,  according  to  the  course 
of  normal  development,  and  are  likely  to  be  irregu- 
lar in  arrangement.  Curiously  enough,  in  a  large  per- 
centage of  cases  the  "  wisdom  teeth  "  do  not  appear 
at  all.  Occasionally  one  sees  a  set  of  double  in- 
cisors. 

Various  deformities  of  fingers  and  toes  occur  by 
way  of  supernumerary  digits,  or  absence  of  one  or 
more  digits.  It  may  happen  that  two  fingers  are 
webbed  together,  two  sets  of  bones  being  palpable 
within  one  covering  of  muscle  and  skin.  Cases  may 
be  seen  in  which  the  hand  consists  of  a  thumb,  and 
a  shapeless  mass  resulting  from  the  failure  of  the 
four  fingers  to  differentiate.  This  stigma  is  called 
"  lobster  hand." 

The  special  sense  organs  appear  in  a  great  variety 
of  malformations,  which  it  is  impossible  to  enumer- 
ate. In  the  case  of  the  ear,  defects  of  the  lobule 


142    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

are  most  frequent.  The  outer  ear  may  be  large, 
fleshy,  and  heavy,  or  it  may  be  much  diminished,  or 
even  entirely  absent.  The  writer  recalls  an  inter- 
esting case  of  ear  deformity  in  an  imbecile  woman. 
There  was  no  outer  ear  whatever,  —  nothing  but  a 
hole  in  each  side  of  the  head,  with  a  wrinkle  of  skin 
around  it.  She  had  just  given  birth  to  a  child,  who 
displayed  exactly  the  same  feature. 

Among  anomalies  of  the  eye,  strabismus  (more 
commonly  called  cross-eyes)  is  one  of  the  commonest, 
and,  of  course,  occurs  quite  frequently  in  persons  of 
normal  or  superior  intelligence.  But  it  occurs  often 
also  among  the  feeble-minded.  Strabismus  may  be 
either  internal  or  external.  In  internal  strabismus, 
one  or  both  eyes  are  turned  inward  toward  the  nose  ; 
in  external  strabismus,  one  or  both  eyes  turn  outward 
away  from  the  nose.  In  either  case  vision  is  im- 
paired. Many  anomalies  of  the  eyes  besides  stra- 
bismus occur.  The  eyes  may  be  each  of  a  different 
color;  one  eye  may  be  set  high  in  the  face,  and  the 
other  low ;  but  one  eye  may  be  present.  In  the  clin- 
ical type  called  mongolians  the  eyes  are  set  in  small, 
obliquely  slanting  openings. 

The  nose  is  subject  to  wide  variation  and  deviation 
from  type.  It  may  be  a  mere  button,  or  it  may  be 
large  and  broad.  Quite  often  it  is  crooked,  owing  to 
deviation  of  the  septum.  Of  other  prominent  fea- 
tures of  the  physiognomy,  the  mouth  may  be  crooked, 
or  loose  and  flabby,  and  in  idiots  there  is  likely  to  be 
drooling  of  saliva. 


PHYSICAL  TRAITS  OF   THE   FEEBLE-MINDED      143 

The  generative  system  may  remain  infantile,  or 
the  organs  of  reproduction  may  be  malformed.  In 
idiots  and  imbeciles  the  advent  of  puberty  is  often 
delayed. 

It  is  necessary  to  emphasize  again  the  fact  that  all 
the  stigmata  mentioned  here,  and  indeed  all  stigmata, 
may  occur  in  human  beings  independently  of  mental 
status.  A  diagnosis  of  mental  deficiency  cannot  be 
made  on  the  basis  of  stigmata.  It  is  not  difficult  to 
find  imbeciles  and  morons  who  are  very  handsome, 
with  excellent  physiques.  A  case  in  point  is  that  of 
a  boy  known  to  the  present  writer,  who  was  the  ward 
of  a  charitable  organization.  This  child  had  been 
selected  by  four  different  families,  each  having  the 
intention  of  adopting  him;  and  in  each  case  he  had 
finally  been  returned,  with  the  complaint  that  he 
"  could  not  learn  anything."  The  organization  never 
had  any  trouble  in  placing  the  child  anew,  because 
he  was  very  attractive  in  appearance,  with  large  blue 
eyes,  curly  hair,  and  well-molded  features.  When  he 
was  returned  for  the  fourth  time,  it  was  decided  to 
ask  for  a  mental  examination.  The  examination 
showed  that  this  child  was  between  six  and  seven 
years  in  mental  development,  whereas  his  actual  age 
was  ten  years.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  convince 
the  ordinary  observer  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  because 
he  is  so  pleasing  in  appearance.  He  has  a  defective 
sister,  who  is  almost  as  handsome  as  he  is. 

This    case    illustrates    in    a    practical    way    the 


144     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

vagueness  of  the  relationship  between  mental  and 
physical  traits.  Physically  the  mentally  defective 
approach  very  near  the  norms.  It  is  only  when 
scores  of  cases  are  measured  and  compared  that  we 
find  a  small  difference  in  the  averages  of  two  groups, 
one  defective  and  the  other  normal  mentally ;  and  the 
amount  of  over-lapping  is  very  great,  even  with  chil- 
dren so  low  in  mental  status  as  to  belong  in  institu- 
tions for  the  feeble-minded. 

Mongolians.  A  few  mentally  defective  children 
present  a  peculiar  and  marked  combination  of  physi- 
cal characteristics,  which  has  won  for  them  the  desig- 
nation mongolians.  Their  eyes  are  set  in  obliquely 
slanting  slits,  the  skull  is  rounded  and  flat  behind, 
and  the  tongue  is  large  and  fissured,  with  hyper- 
trophied  papillae.  In  addition  to  these  chief  char- 
acteristics, the  hair  is  generally  dry,  scant,  and  wiry ; 
the  cheeks  are  flushed;  the  fingers  and  toes  are  short; 
the  little  finger  often  curves  in  a  peculiar  fashion ;  and 
the  joints  of  all  the  limbs  are  very  lax.  This  last 
characteristic  gives  rise  to  hypermotility  of  the  joints, 
so  that  it  is  possible  to  bend  them  to  an  extraordi- 
nary degree.  The  writer  has  in  mind  a  mongolian 
imbecile,  one  of  whose  favorite  tricks  is  to  bend  her 
lower  limbs  back  behind  her  arms,  in  such  a  position 
that  her  feet  touch  the  nape  of  her  neck. 

The  mucous  membranes  of  mongolians  seem  espe- 
cially irritable,  and  they  suffer  with  chronic  catarrh, 
colds,  bronchitis,  and  often  contract  tuberculosis. 


PHYSICAL   TRAITS    OF   THE    FEEBLE-MINDED      145 

As  a  rule  they  do  not  live  to  adult  years,  the  average 
age  of  death  being  about  fourteen  years. 

In  the  early  months  of  life  mongolians  are  some- 
times mistaken  for  cretins,  but  as  development  pro- 
gresses the  differential  diagnosis  becames  easy.  The 
characteristic  combination  of  features,  occurring  re- 
peatedly, has  led  to  the  expectation  that  research 
may  some  time  reveal  some  specific  pathology  un- 
derlying the  condition,  just  as  has  been  found  in  the 
case  of  cretinism.  It  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose 
that  this,  too,  may  be  an  endocrine  disorder.  How- 
ever, no  cause  of  mongolianism  has  ever  been  estab- 
lished, and  no  endocrine  substance  has  been  discov- 
ered to  ameliorate  the  mental  and  physical  state. 

Microcephalies.  Mental  defectives  who  have  ex- 
ceptionally small  heads  have  been  designated  micro- 
cephalies. They  present  no  special  features  other 
than  extreme  smallness  of  the  cranium,  with  recession 
of  chin  and  forehead,  and  suggest  no  possible  endo- 
crine disorder,  as  the  mongolians  do. 

By  the  term  micro  cephalic  is  usually  signified  a 
person  whose  skull  is  not  more  than  seventeen 
inches  in  its  greatest  circumference.  The  contour  of 
face  and  head  is  that  made  familiar  by  the  "  Sunny 
Jim  "  advertisements,  which  were  formerly  displayed 
so  freely.  The  microcephalies  represent  the  ex- 
tremely low  end  of  the  curve  of  distribution  for  cra- 
nial circumference. 

Physical    Education.     Since    the    feeble-minded 


146     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

approach  much  nearer  the  norms  in  physical  traits 
than  in  any  other  respect,  it  would  be  expected  that 
they  will  respond  to  physical  education  relatively 
well.  That  such  is  indeed  the  case  is  repeatedly 
shown  when  special  class  children  are  seen  in  the 
drills  of  gymnasium  or  swimming  tank.  A  spectator 
who  sees  them  at  this  can  scarcely  believe  that  he  is 
witnessing  the  performance  of  children  who  cannot 
learn  to  read  or  write  acceptably,  or  to  comprehend 
the  fundamentals  of  arithmetic. 

The  principles  of  physical  education  are  the  same 
for  the  feeble-minded  as  for  any  other  children.  If 
defects  are  present  which  corrective  gymnastics  can 
improve,  they  should  be  applied.  Physical  exercise 
will  do  for  the  mentally  subnormal  just  what  it  will 
do  for  children  in  general,  that  is,  it  will  keep  the 
body  in  condition,  and  conduce  to  muscular  develop- 
ment. 

Physical  education  will  not  raise  the  intelligence 
level,  as  the  enthusiastic  but  uninformed  have  some- 
times thought.  From  time  to  time  one  hears  of  a 
new  system  of  "  physiological  training,"  or  of  "  med- 
ico-pedagogical treatment/'  which  purports  to  affect 
the  growth  of  intelligence.  No  such  system  has  ever 
been  shown  to  have  any  effect  upon  the  intelligence 
level. 

Birth  Rate  and  Mortality.  At  what  rate  are 
mentally  defective  children  being  born?  This  ques- 
tion assumes  particular  significance  when  asked  in 


PHYSICAL   TRAITS   OF   THE   FEEBLE-MINDED      147 

this  way:  At  what  rate  are  mentally  defective  chil- 
dren being  born,  as  compared  with  children  in  gen- 
eral? 

All  reliable  figures  on  the  birth  rate  indicate  that 
for  many  decades  past  the  birth  rate  has  been  in 
inverse  relation  to  intelligence ;  that  the  lower  the  in- 
telligence, the  higher  the  birth  rate,  and  the  higher 
the  intelligence,  the  lower  the  birth  rate.  Parents 
who  are  of  that  degree  of  intelligence  which  is  capable 
of  passing  through  college  and  university  have  very 
few  children,  while  the  feeble-minded  bear  an  un- 
limited progeny.  Dr.  Goddard  believes  on  the  basis 
of  facts  collected  that  the  birth  rate  among  defective 
parents  is  two  to  six  times  as  great  as  the  birth  rate 
for  the  population  as  a  whole.  This  differential  birth 
rate  is  due  to  the  fact  that  where  there  is  lack  of  in- 
telligence there  is  also  lack  of  prudence.  The  unin- 
telligent are  at  the  mercy  of  instinct,  which  takes  no 
thought  for  the  future,  and  perceives  no  consequence. 
Late  marriage  from  economic  motives  plays  no  part 
in  reducing  the  birth  rate  among  them,  for  they 
marry  at  will,  regardless  of  circumstances,  or  pro- 
create illegitimately.  They  are  never  restrained  by 
the  reflection  that  there  is  not  enough  to  feed  those 
already  in  existence.  Their  standard  of  living  is 
exceedingly  primitive.  All  of  the  prudential  checks 
to  procreation  which  operate  through  the  intelligence 
are  lacking  in  the  feeble-minded,  and  in  consequence 
an  undue  proportion  of  subnormal  children  are  born. 


148    PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

If  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  natural  laws  of  selection 
and  survival,  the  death  rate  would  also  be  very  much 
higher  among  the  subnormal  than  among  the  popula- 
tion at  large.  Many  would  starve,  many  would 
freeze,  many  would  meet  with  fatal  accidents,  many 
would  die  of  disease  through  not  recognizing  the  laws 
of  hygiene.  But  we  do  not  allow  the  natural  laws  of 
selection  and  survival  to  operate  in  civilized  society. 
We  provide  means  of  caring  for  the  helpless.  Thus 
the  high  birth  rate  among  them  is  not  offset  by  a  high 
death  rate.  Society  does  not  interfere  effectively 
with  the  former,  but  it  does  interfere  with  the  latter. 

Nevertheless,  though  social  agencies  in  the  form 
of  public  and  private  charities,  do  all  they  can  to 
carry  the  social  burden  humanely,  and  to  prevent  the 
high  death  rate  which  is  a  natural  consequence  of 
mental  deficiency,  mortality  among  the  feeble- 
minded is  somewhat  higher  than  among  the  popula- 
tion in  general.  The  data  upon  which  this  state- 
ment is  based  come  from  institutions  for  the  feeble- 
minded. The  two  commonest  causes  of  death  are 
tuberculosis,  and  pneumonia.  From  this  it  might 
be  inferred  that  the  vitality  of  the  feeble-minded  is 
lower  than  that  of  children  chosen  at  random,  on 
the  average. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Case,  I.,  The  Correlation  between  Mental  Defect  and 
Anomalies  of  the  Hard  Palate.  American  Journal  of  Insanity. 
April,  1919. 


PHYSICAL   TRAITS   OF   THE   FEEBLE-MINDED      149 

2.  Channing,  W.,  and  Wisler,  C.,  Comparative  Measurements 
of  the  Hard  Palate  in  Normal  and  Feeble-Minded  Individuals. 
A  Preliminary  Report.    American  Journal  of  Insanity.    Vol.  61, 
pp.  687-697. 

3.  Doll,  E.  A.,  Anthropometry  as  an  Aid  to  Mental  Diagnosis. 
The  Training  School.    Vineland,  N.  J.    1916. 

4.  Goddard,  H.  H.,  The  Height  and  Weight  of  Feeble-Minded 
Children  in  American  Institutions.    The  Journal  of  Mental  and 
Nervous  Disease.    April,  1912. 

5.,  Goddard,  H.  H.,  The  Menace  of  Mental  Deficiency  from 
the  Standpoint  of  Heredity.  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Jour- 
nal. Aug.  24,  1916. 

6.  Mead,  C.  D.,  Height  and  Weight  of  Children  in  Relation 
to  General  Intelligence.    Pedagogical  Seminary.    1914. 

7.  Norsworthy,  N.,  The   Psychology   of   Mentally   Deficient 
Children.    Archives  of  Psychology.    1906. 

8.  Porteus,    S.    D.,    Cephalometry    of    Feeble-Minded.    The 
Training  School  Bulletin.    June,  1919. 

9.  Shaw,  T.  C.,  Measurement  of  the  Palate  in  Idiots  and  Im- 
beciles.   Journal  of  Mental  Science.    July,  1876. 

10.  Shuttleworth,  G.  E.,  The  Health  and  Development  of  Idiots 
Compared  with  Mentally  Sound  Children  of  the  Same  Age. 
Proceedings  of  the  Association  of  Medical  Officers  of  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  for  Idiotic  and  Feeble-Minded  Persons.  1876-1886. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE   INSTINCTS  AND   EMOTIONS  OF  THE 
FEEBLE-MINDED 

General  Consideration  of  Instinct  and  Emotion. 
At  the  very  inception  of  life  every  organism  is  in- 
nately gifted  with  tendencies  to  respond  to  the  situ- 
ations which  life  offers,  apart  from  all  training.  Of 
these  tendencies,  those  which  are  fairly  complicated 
in  character,  and  which  have  not  been  learned  as  a 
result  of  experience,  are  called  instincts. 

Some  of  the  clearest  examples  of  instinct  that  can 
be  adduced  in  illustration  are  found  among  insects. 
The  locust  goes  through  the  fairly  elaborate  be- 
havior of  flying,  eating,  "  singing,"  and  depositing 
its  larva?  in  such  a  way  that  offspring  will  come  forth 
in  due  season ;  yet  all  this  is  done  without  any  learn- 
ing whatever.  There  is  no  elderly  locust  to  teach 
the  new  generation  what  to  do  in  the  situations  of- 
fered by  life.  No  ideas  of  remote  ends  to  be  attained 
guide  the  locust.  These  activities  are  instinctive, 
innate  in  the  organism,  as  a  result  of  centuries  of 
natural  selection. 

It  is  no  part  of  the  purpose  of  this  volume  to 
undertake  an  exhaustive  discussion  of  human 

150 


INSTINCTS   OF   THE   FEEBLE-MINDED        151 

instincts.  Such  discussions  are  to  be  sought  in  stand- 
ard texts  on  social  and  educational  psychology.  We 
shall  note  briefly  here  only  a  few  of  the  human  in- 
stincts, which  are  most  significant  for  the  under- 
standing of  the  behavior  of  the  mentally  defective, 
as  related  to  the  social  ideals  of  our  day.  Among 
these  are  (1)  the  tendency  to  acquire  and  possess 
objects  of  attractive  size  and  appearance,  (2)  the 
tendency  to  resist  the  abstraction  of  objects  once 
acquired,  (3)  the  tendency  to  seek,  seize,  and  ingest 
food,  (4)  the  tendency  to  notice,  approach,  and  mate 
with  members  of  the  opposite  sex,  (5)  the  tendency 
to  be  angry  when  thwarted  in  the  pursuit  of  a  desired 
end,  (6)  the  tendency  to  seek  the  company  of  fellow 
beings  rather  than  isolation,  (7)  the  tendency  to 
feel  pleased  at  the  approval  of  others,  and  to  feel 
miserable  at  their  scorn  or  disapproval,  (8)  the  tend- 
ency to  be  satisfied  when  others  are  happy,  and  to 
be  dissatisfied  when  others  are  wretched  or  in  pain, 
(9)  the  tendency  to  flee  from  large,  strange  objects 
which  approach,  (10)  the  tendency  to  manipulate 
the  environment,  (11)  the  tendency  to  behave  sub- 
missively in  the  presence  of  those  who  are  obviously 
superior  in  power,  and  to  behave  aggressively  in  the 
presence  of  inferiors,  (12)  the  tendency  to  try  to 
"  get  ahead  "  of  others,  who  are  engaged  in  the  same 
activities. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  responses  which  human  be- 
ings make  by  original  nature,  without  training.  Rarely 


152    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

is  it  necessary  to  teach  any  child  to  make  such  re- 
sponses. The  great  problem  of  moral  education, 
on  the  contrary,  is  to  teach  children  to  inhibit  and 
control  these  strong  innate  tendencies,  to  an  extent 
which  will  make  social  relations  possible. 

It  is  of  the  essence  of  an  instinct  that  it  is  aimless, 
blind,  in  the  sense  that  it  is  not  guided  by  conscious 
purpose  or  thought  of  consequence.  Purpose  and 
consequence  can  be  apprehended  only  by  the  intelli- 
gence.1 They  must  be  apprehended  as  ideas,  and  in- 
stinct functions  without  the  direction  of  ideas,  by 
original  nature. 

Since  instincts  are  blind  to  purpose  and  conse- 
quence, how  is  it  possible  to  secure  that  control  and 
inhibition  of  them,  that  we  call  moral  conduct?  The 
answer  is  that  moral  conduct  is  secured  through  the 
agency  of  the  intelligence,  through  the  agency  of 
man's  capacity  to  learn  and  to  make  adaptations  on 
the  basis  of  experience.  Codes  of  morals  and  ethics 
rest  primarily  on  the  intellectual  recognition  that,  on 
the  whole  and  in  the  long  run,  life  is  more  satisfying 
if  tendencies  to  act  are  controlled  and  inhibited  in 
certain  ways.  This  recognition  is  passed  on  from 
one  generation  to  another  under  the  name  of  moral 
education,  and  the  younger  generation  receives  the 
instruction  partly  through  its  ability  to  comprehend 
ideas  of  purpose  and  consequence,  partly  through  its 

1  Intelligence,  also,  may  be  listed  as  an  instinct,  in  the  sense 
that  it  is  inborn. 


INSTINCTS   OF   THE   FEEBLE-MINDED        153 

own  personal  experience  of  punishment  when  certain 
responses  are  made,  and  of  reward  when  certain 
others  are  substituted.  Thus  moral  conduct  is  di- 
rectly dependent  upon  ability  to  comprehend  ideas, 
and  capacity  to  profit  by  experience. 

It  is  now  clear  why  the  young  child  or  the  feeble- 
minded person  cannot  be  depended  upon  to  act  in 
accordance  writh  the  code  of  morals  and  ethics. 
Children  and  the  feeble-minded  need  supervision  in 
their  social  relations,  because  intelligence  is  inade- 
quate for  the  complicated  task  of  controlling  and  in- 
hibiting the  instincts,  in  situations  which  arouse 
them.  To  act  on  an  immediate  impulse  is  always 
easy;  to  postpone  a  present  satisfaction  for  the  sake 
of  remote  consequence,  which  exists  only  as  an  idea, 
is  always  difficult.  Small  wonder,  then,  that  a  being 
who  is  incapable  of  formulating  ideas  of  consequence 
should  act  in  whatever  way  will  bring  immediate  sat- 
isfaction. 

A  word  concerning  emotion  will  be  timely  at  this 
point.  Every  instinctive  act,  and  the  thwarting  of 
every  instinctive  act,  carries  with  it  an  affective  ex- 
perience of  some  degree.  To  follow  out  instinctive 
promptings  without  hindrance  is  satisfying;  to  be 
thwarted,  or  to  be  compelled  to  act  against  instinctive 
promptings  is  unsatisfying.  These  satisfactions  and 
dissatisfactions  are  expressed  in  the  form  of  the  emo- 
tions. Popularly  certain  well  recognized  words  such 
as  anger,  shame,  disgust,  joy,  terror,  have  been  used 


154     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

to  designate  emotional  behavior.  No  analysis  of 
these  terms  can  be  undertaken  here,  but  it  may  be 
stated  that  man  is  usually  aware  of  his  emotional  re- 
actions, so  that  emotion  has  been  called  "  the  con- 
scious side  of  instinct,"  since  the  two  are  inseparably 
associated. 

The  Instinctive  and  Emotional  Life  of  the  Feeble- 
Minded.  No  prolonged  and  systematic  study  has 
been  made  of  the  instinctive  and  emotional  life  of 
the  feeble-minded.  The  intelligence  of  the  defective 
has  claimed  most  of  the  interest  of  investigators. 
This  fact  is  to  be  explained,  no  doubt,  by  the  greater 
difficulty  of  devising  an  experimental  technique  for 
the  study  of  instinct  and  emotion.  We  are  indebted 
to  Binet  for  a  few  direct  observations  upon  the  char- 
acter of  imbeciles  and  morons,  but  these  have  not 
been  amplified  by  psychologists,  as  his  observations 
upon  the  intelligence  have  been. 

As  long  ago  as  1736  Felix  Platter,  in  his  Praxeos 
Medicae,  writing  upon  "  Mental  Imbecility,  Mental 
Consternation,  and  Mental  Alienation,"  noted  that 
"  Friendly  emotions  and  affects  may  be  encountered 
with  intellectual  backwardness."  Indeed,  there 
seems  no  possible  doubt  that  in  respect  to  instincts 
and  emotions  the  feeble-minded  approach  much 
nearer  the  norms  than  they  do  in  intellectual  traits. 
It  is  to  be  observed,  also,  that  children  are  much 
more  like  adults  in  instinct  than  they  are  in  intellect. 

Anyone  who  has  worked  much  with  and  among 


INSTINCTS    OF   THE    FEEBLE-MINDED        155 

mentally  deficient  children  knows  that  they  differ 
greatly  in  character,  just  as  all  children  do.  There 
are  all  degrees  of  docility,  of  aggressiveness,  of  in- 
stability, of  stolidity,  and  so  on,  through  all  the  traits 
of  temperament.  Perhaps  the  simplest  way  to  ap- 
proach the  instinctive  and  emotional  life  of  the 
feeble-minded  for  our  present  purpose  will  be  through 
an  analysis  of  their  crimes  and  misdemeanors.  The 
commission  of  a  crime  or  misdemeanor  constitutes 
objective  evidence  of  the  existence  of  an  instinct, 
since  violations  of  the  moral  code  (which  eventually 
becomes  the  legal  code)  by  instinctive  acts,  are 
called  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

Analysis  of  the  Crimes  and  Misdemeanors  of  the 
Feeble-Minded.  In  1913  a  number  of  children  who 
had  been  referred  from  the  Children's  Court  in  New 
York  City  for  mental  examination  were  studied,  and 
the  charges  made  against  the  mentally  defective  were 
in  order  of  frequency  as  follows :  theft  and  accomplice 
in  burglary,  truancy,  sexual  misbehavior,  incorrigi- 
bility,  disorderly  conduct,  fighting  and  assault, 
truancy  and  theft  (double  charge),  associating  with 
vile  and  vicious  persons,  murder  and  attempted  mur- 
der, vagrancy,  intoxication,  arson,  begging,  peddling 
without  a  license,  destroying  property,  intolerable 
nuisance,  and  violating  child  labor  laws. 

Theft  is  the  commonest  offence  committed.  The 
tendency  to  acquire  and  possess  objects  of  suitable 
size  and  attractiveness  is  involved  here,  as  is  also 


156     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

the  tendency  to  seek,  seize,  and  ingest  food.  These 
mentally  deficient  children  stole  such  objects  as 
money,  old  brass,  tin  foil,  copper  wire,  apples,  ladies' 
dresses,  a  rabbit,  a  baby-cart,  peanuts,  bicycles,  news- 
papers, a  cake  of  ice,  and  a  horse  and  buggy.  The 
instinct  to  acquire  and  possess  is  very  well  developed 
in  these  children.  The  same  is  true  of  the  instincts 
connected  with  food.  In  the  adult  feeble-minded, 
food-getting  is  one  of  the  chief  incentives  to  petit 
larceny,  which  is  one  of  the  commonest  charges 
made  against  them  in  the  courts. 

The  following  conversation  ensued  with  an  ado- 
lescent boy  of  sixteen  years,  with  an  IQ  of  51,  who 
had  been  arraigned  in  the  courts  for  burglary.  His 
mother  was  a  janitress  in  an  apartment  house,  and  he 
worked  about  the  place,  helping  her.  In  the  course 
of  the  day's  work,  he  had  entered  the  apartment  of 
a  tenant,  which  was  conveniently  accessible,  and  had 
stolen  a  small  sum  of  money. 

Q.    Why  are  you  here? 

A.     I  done  wrong. 

Q.    What  did  you  do  that  was  wrong? 

A.    Stole  three  dollars. 

Q.    From  whom  did  you  take  it? 

A.    A  lady  in  the  apartment. 

Q.    Why  did  you  take  the  money? 

A.     I  seen  it  lyin'  there. 

Q.    What  did  you  do  with  the  money? 

A.     Bought  fruit  and  crackers.    That's  all. 


INSTINCTS    OF   THE    FEEBLE-MINDED        157 

Q.    Why  is  it  wrong  to  steal? 

A.  Because  a  cop  will  get  you.  Because  you  get 
in  bad. 

Q.    Why  do  you  get  in  bad? 

A.    (No  response.    Shakes  head.)     Don't  know. 

Q.    What  place  is  this? 

A.    A  room,  with  windows. 

Q.    Why  should  you  be  sent  to  this  place? 

A.    I  don't  know. 

The  next  most  common  offence  is  truancy.  To 
the  question,  "  What  do  you  do  when  you  go  on  the 
hook? "  Miss  Irwin  elicited  interesting  answers 
from  subnormal  children.  "  Oh,  I  go  all  round,"  was 
often  the  response.  Others  went  "  to  the  Park  to 
see  the  animals."  Still  others  joined  gangs,  and 
went  to  fly  pigeons  from  the  roofs  of  the  tenements. 
In  other  communities  these  pursuits  would  be  re- 
placed by  fishing,  playing  marbles,  shooting  craps, 
and  the  like.  The  instincts  which  underlie  truancy 
are  doubtless  many.  General  manipulation  of  the 
environment,  the  tendency  to  seek  one's  kind,  dread 
of  disapproval  and  scorn,  are  prominent.  The  tru- 
ant is  he  who  is  isolated  in  the  midst  of  children  hope- 
lessly beyond  him  in  ability  and  interests,  who  is  al- 
ways "  at  the  bottom  of  the  class  "  and  hence  the 
object  of  the  teacher's  disapproval  and  the  pupils' 
scorn.  He  cannot  manipulate  the  environment  of 
the  classroom,  so  he  seeks  an  environment  which  he 
can  manipulate. 


158    PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

In  the  frequency  of  charges  which  have  to  do  with 
the  sexual  instinct,  we  see  that  this  element  is  well 
developed.  If  the  sexual  instinct  were  weak  in 
feeble-minded  persons,  the  problem  of  mental  defi- 
ciency would  be  largely  self-solving,  and  no  eugenic 
program  would  be  necessary.  The  indication  is  that 
the  feeble-minded  approach  the  norms  in  this  par- 
ticular. The  inhibitions  due  to  ideas  being  weak  in 
them,  this  well-developed  instinct  determines  con- 
duct, and  in  adolescent  and  adult  defectives  we  have, 
as  a  result,  illegitimacy,  illegal  co-habitation,  and  all 
the  other  violations  of  the  rules  which  organized 
society  has  set  up  for  the  regulation  of  the  sexual  in- 
stinct. 

Incorrigibility  and  disorderly  conduct  cover  such 
specific  acts  as  cursing,  throwing  stones,  staying  out 
nights,  quarreling,  and  the  like.  There  is  a  revela- 
tion of  instincts  in  great  variety  here,  and  the  charges 
result  from  habitual  yielding  to  minor  impulses. 

Fighting,  assault,  and  murder  result  in  the  major- 
ity of  cases  from  anger  at  being  thwarted.  A  few 
concrete  cases  will  make  this  clear.  R  —  N  — ,  a  boy 
thirteen  years  of  age,  with  a  mental  age  of  eight 
years,  drew  a  knife  on  the  teacher.  The  teacher  had 
reproved  him  for  something  he  had  undertaken,  and 
had  asked  him  to  stop.  He  had  been  placed  with 
this  teacher,  who  was  a  good  disciplinarian,  because 
he  had  thrown  a  heavy  flower-pot  at  his  former 
teacher,  when  thwarted  in  some  act.  He  remained 


INSTINCTS   OF   THE    FEEBLE-MINDED         159 

good-natured  and  grinning,  so  long  as  he  was  per- 
mitted to  have  his  way. 

Sometimes  fighting  and  assault  are  motivated  by 
the  tendency  to  resist  the  abstraction  of  goods  ac- 
quired. The  following  is  the  verbatim  story  of  a 
woman  thirty-four  years  old,  with  a  mental  age  of 
six  years,  six  months,  an  inmate  of  an  institution  for 
the  feeble-minded.  She  appeared  before  the  exam- 
iner with  a  blackened  and  swollen  eye,  and  the  fol- 
lowing conversation  took  place. 

Q.    How  did  you  get  that  black  eye? 

A.  You  know  we  have  chicken  for  dinner  on  Sun- 
day, and  I  took  that  girl's  chicken  away  from  her 
plate.  So  she  pulled  my  hair  first,  and  she  knocked 
me  on  to  the  floor,  and  she  landed  on  my  stomach, 
too.  But  I  give  it  to  her  back  though.  I  pulled  her 
hair.  That's  all.  See,  that  girl  didn't  want  me  to 
do  it.  And  then  I  went  up  to  wash  my  hands,  be- 
cause they  was  all  greasy  from  holding  on  to  the 
chicken.  She  didn't  like  me,  that  girl. 

Again,  fighting  and  assault,  and  at  times  murder, 
may  be  motivated  by  resentment  at  being  scorned, 
as  in  the  account  of  a  feeble-minded  girl  fifteen  years 
of  age,  also  an  inmate  of  an  institution,  who  ap- 
peared with  a  black  eye. 

Q.    How  did  you  get  that  black  eye? 

A.  (After  a  sulky  silence.)  Well,  there's  a  girl, 

and  she  called  me  a sheeney,  and  I  called  it  to 

her  back  a guinea,  and  she  hit  me  in  the  eye,  and 

I  hit  her  in  the  nose. 


160    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

As  for  the  other  offenses  listed,  vagrancy  often 
results  from  destitution,  with  consequent  aimless 
wandering  about  in  search  of  food  and  shelter ;  arson 
may  result  from  curiosity  and  general  manipulation 
of  the  environment,  including  matches,  and  inflam- 
mable materials ;  begging,  peddling  without  a  license, 
and  violating  the  child  labor  laws  are  infrequent 
charges,  and  come  from  the  attempt  to  get  food  and 
shelter  indirectly,  without,  however,  taking  cogni- 
zance of  the  rules ;  being  an  intolerable  nuisance  may 
result  simply  from  general  lack  of  control,  such  as  is 
found  in  any  creature  with  strong  tendencies  to  ac- 
tivity, but  without  much  intelligence. 

Dr.  Glueck  classified  the  crimes  of  ninety-eight 
feeble-minded  offenders  committed  to  Sing  Sing 
Prison  on  the  basis  of  instinct,  as  follows. 

Crimes  which  had  their  impulse  in  the  instinct  of  acquisi- 
tiveness    58 

Crimes  which  had  their  impulse  in  the  instinct  of  pugnacity  26 

Crimes  which  had  their  impulse  in  the  instinct  of  sex    .    .  13 

Arson   (no  instinct  assigned) 1 

The  instinct  of  submission  to  those  who  are  ob- 
viously more  powerful  is  an  important  factor  in  the 
misdoings  of  the  defective,  because  through  it  they 
easily  become  the  tools  of  those  "  higher  up."  The 
guardians  of  feeble-minded  children  reiterate  the 
complaint,  "  He  does  all  that  other  boys  tell  him  to 
do,  and  believes  everything  they  say."  This  instinct 
to  submit  is  sometimes  discussed  as  suggestibility. 


INSTINCTS  OF   THE   FEEBLE-MINDED        161 

The  feeble-minded  are  credulous  and  gullible,  being 
unable  to  combat  the  judgments  of  those  about  them, 
because  they  lack  the  power  of  formulating  judg- 
ments for  themselves. 

To  assent  without  motive  to  any  obscure  statement 
made  in  a  tone  of  authority,  is  characteristic  of  the 
majority  of  human  beings,  but  it  becomes  increas- 
ingly characteristic  as  we  go  downward  in  the  scale 
of  intelligence.  In  the  case  of  idiots  and  imbeciles 
it  is  often  sufficient  to  look  at  them,  and  to  say  in  a 
tone  of  authority,  "  Isn't  that  so?  "  without  ever  hav- 
ing made  any  preliminary  remark  at  all.  Immedi- 
ately they  nod,  or  reply,  "  Yes,"  as  though  a  truth 
had  been  uttered. 

In  his  discussion  of  suggestibility  Binet  notes  that 
little  children  under  three  or  four  years  of  age  can 
be  made  to  react  in  the  same  way  almost  invariably, 
and  many  children  older  than  this  will  react  so. 
Above  the  age  of  seven  or  eight  years,  however,  a 
normal  child  remains  unmoved,  does  not  reply, 
"  looks  at  one  in  a  scandalized  manner,"  or  demands 
an  explanation. 

Binet  tells  of  various  experiments  in  submission 
performed  on  imbeciles,  where  the  suggestions  were 
such  as  to  outrage  common  sense,  and  which  could 
not  possibly  have  succeeded  except  with  subjects 
very  low  in  the  scale  of  intelligence.  Binet  would 
rise,  take  a  chair,  and  show  it  to  the  imbecile,  whom 
he  was  studying,  with  the  following  results : 

M 


162     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

Q.     What  is  this? 

A.    A  chair. 

Q.  Dreadful  mistake!  It  is  not  a  chair;  it  is  a 
corkscrew.  (Pause.)  Now  let  us  see.  What  is 
this?  (Again  showing  the  chair.) 

A.    A  corkscrew. 

Q.     Now,  upon  what  are  you  sitting? 

A.     A  corkscrew. 

The  following  conversation  with  an  imbecile  pris- 
oner shows  at  the  same  time  the  instinct  of  submis- 
sion, leading  him  into  absurd  contradictions,  and  his 
inability  to  grasp  the  social  organization  under  the 
rules  of  which  he  had  been  eight  times  committed 
to  workhouse  and  penitentiary  by  the  time  he  had 
reached  his  thirty-fifth  year.  This  prisoner  had  been 
arraigned  on  the  occasion  of  this  conversation  for 
breaking  into  a  freight  car,  in  winter,  in  search  of 
shelter.  His  mental  age  was  found  to  be  six  years, 
four  months.  The  conversation  ran  thus : 

Q.  What  place  is  this?  (Room  in  observation 
ward.) 

A.     A  room. 

Q.    What  kind  of  a  room? 

A.    A  big  room. 

Q.    Why  were  you  sent  here? 

A.    Judge  said  I'd  be  well  took  care  of  here. 

Q.    How  did  you  get  before  the  judge? 

A.     I  was  in  Bronx  Park.     Little  drunk. 

Q.  (In  startled,  disapproving  tones.)  You  were 
drunk? 


INSTINCTS   OF   THE   FEEBLE-MINDED        163 

A.     (Hastily.)     No,  ma'am,  not  drunk. 

Q.  And  where  were  you  before  you  were  in  the 
Park? 

A.     In  penitentiary. 

Q.    What's  a  penitentiary? 

A.     Place  where  you  stay  and  work. 

Q.     What  do  you  stay  for? 

A.     Place  like  Blackwell's  Island. 

Q.    What  kind  of  place  is  Blackwell's  Island? 

A.     Place  where  you  work.    Like  a  prison. 

Q.     What's  a  prison? 

A.     Place  where  you  do  housework. 

Q.     And  you  weren't  drunk  this  time,  were  you? 

A.     No,  ma'am,  not  drunk. 

Q.  (In  tone  of  authority.)  But  you  were  drunk, 
weren't  you? 

A.     (In  hasty  agreement.)     Yes,  ma'am,  drunk. 

Under  the  circumstances  in  which  he  finds  himself, 
it  would  be  easy  to  make  this  imbecile  agree  to  any- 
thing. Whether  he  responds  in  the  affirmative  or  in 
the  negative  depends  upon  the  form  of  the  question, 
the  tone  in  which  it  is  put,  and  the  attitude  and  facial 
expression  of  the  examiner. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  comment  at  length  upon  the 
ease  with  which  such  a  mind  becomes  the  tool  and 
dupe  of  others  more  powerful.  Of  course  a  six-year 
mentality  would  be  of  little  use  in  the  performance 
of  a  complicated  crime,  but  eight-,  nine-,  and  ten- 
year  mentality  can  be  very  useful,  and  what  is  true 


164     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

of  this  imbecile  is  also  true  of  those  of  higher  grade, 
though  true  in  lesser  degree. 

The  feeble-minded  are,  however,  not  submissive  to 
each  other,  nor  to  those  lower  in  power  than  they 
themselves.  Like  others,  they  show  all  degrees  of 
submissive  and  of  aggressive  behavior,  in  response 
to  situations  which  by  nature  call  these  reactions 
forth. 

Certainly  it  seems  that  instincts  are  nearly  as 
strong  among  the  intellectually  subnormal  as  they 
are  among  the  normal  and  superior.  It  is  this  dis- 
proportion between  the  strength  of  instinct  and  the 
amount  of  intelligence  which  is  responsible  for  the 
unsocial  and  anti-social  behavior  of  the  mentally  defi- 
cient, which  in  turn  makes  of  them  such  objects  of 
concern.  If  there  were  a  perfect  correlation  between 
instinct  and  intelligence,  so  that  a  feeble  intel- 
lect would  always  insure  equally  feeble  instincts, 
many  of  the  difficulties  of  life  would  disappear  auto- 
matically. 

Of  the  instincts  which  do  not  ordinarily  lead  to 
crime,  such  as  the  tendency  to  feel  pleased  at  the  ap- 
proval of  others,  and  the  tendency  to  be  satisfied  by 
seeing  others  comfortable  and  happy,  there  is  every 
reason  to  suppose  that  these  are  as  well  developed 
in  the  subnormal  as  are  the  instincts  which  lead  more 
readily  into  difficulty.  Mentally  deficient  children 
are  as  susceptible  as  others  to  nods  and  pats  of  ap- 
proval, to  smiles,  praise,  and  rewards,  and  their 


INSTINCTS   OF   THE   FEEBLE-MINDED        165 

affection  attaches  as  readily  to  those  who  win  their 
confidence. 

The  study  of  the  instinctive  and  emotional  life  of 
the  feeble-minded  may  prove  most  valuable  for  nor- 
mal psychology.  One  of  the  great  obstacles  to  the 
scientific  study  of  instinct  has  been  the  difficulty  of 
distinguishing  between  what  is  really  innate  and 
what  is  learned,  in  the  behavior  of  human  beings.  If 
it  were  possible  to  study  human  beings  who  approach 
the  norm  in  their  equipment  of  instincts,  but  who 
can  learn  relatively  little,  many  questions  about  in- 
stinct might  be  illuminated. 

Legal  Responsibility.  It  has  long  been  recognized 
in  courts  of  law  that  children  are  not  to  be  held  re- 
sponsible for  their  acts  below  a  certain  age.  This 
age  varies  considerably  in  different  times  and  differ- 
ent countries.  In  old  English  law  the  child  could 
not  be  legally  punished  for  his  acts  before  the  age  of 
seven.  According  to  the  Jewish  code,  the  sins  "  go 
on  the  parents  "  until  the  child  is  twelve  years  old, 
when  he  becomes  responsible.  The  laws  relating 
to  juvenile  courts  usually  place  the  age  of  responsi- 
bility at  sixteen  years,  by  allowing  only  those  under 
that  age  to  be  arraigned  in  the  children's  court.  The 
age  of  legal  responsibility  does  not  at  present  rest 
upon  the  results  of  scientific  research,  but  upon  the 
"  general  notion  "  of  lawmakers  as  to  the  age  at 
which  the  intelligence  is  sufficiently  developed  to 
take  the  instincts  in  charge. 


166     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

It  is  possible  that  as  civilization  advances  and  the 
environment  becomes  more  and  more  complex,  the 
age  of  legal  responsibility  should  be  advanced  also. 
Perhaps  it  was  right  that  centuries  ago  the  age  of 
responsibility  should  have  been  seven  years,  and  right 
that  now  it  should  be  sixteen  years.  At  all  events, 
the  problem  remains  temptingly  open  to  sociological 
and  psychological  research,  as  does  also  the  question 
of  the  age  of  consent,  which  is  now  determined  with- 
out regard  to  psychological  principles. 

This  matter  of  the  age  of  legal  responsibility  is 
important  for  students  of  the  feeble-minded.  Pre- 
sumably all  persons  below  a  given  mental  age,  re- 
gardless of  chronological  age,  should  be  held  irre- 
sponsible before  the  law.  Responsibility  should 
not  be  determined  by  the  number  of  years  an  indi- 
vidual has  been  in  existence,  but  by  the  mental  level 
which  he  has  attained.  It  is  therefore  very  impor- 
tant to  determine  at  what  mental  age  the  intelli- 
gence is  sufficient  to  constitute  "  responsibility." 

Present  practice  in  the  courts  is  much  confused  on 
this  point.  In  New  York  City,  for  example,  all  in- 
dividuals who  have  been  in  existence  less  than  six- 
teen years  are  held  to  be  irresponsible  or  partially 
responsible,  regardless  of  mental  acuity.  This  would 
lead  to  the  supposition  that  a  mental  age  of  sixteen 
years  is  regarded  as  the  criterion  of  full  legal  re- 
sponsibility. This  is  not,  however,  the  case,  for  adult 
prisoners  of  a  mental  age  of  about  nine  years  and  over 


INSTINCTS   OP   THE   FEEBLE-MINDED        167 

are  not  provided  for  in  law  in  any  way  other  than 
by  the  procedure  for  conviction  and  punishment, 
common  to  all  who  have  been  in  existence  for  more 
than  sixteen  years.  These  discrepancies  in  practice 
will,  of  course,  disappear  as  knowledge  grows  and  be- 
comes disseminated. 

Moral  Imbeciles.  The  term  moral  imbecile  has 
been  used  with  many  different  connotations.  When 
used  to  designate  a  person  whose  intelligence  is  de- 
fective, the  term  is  superfluous,  for  mental  imbeciles 
are  moral  imbeciles  also,  since  "  having  morals  "  in- 
volves a  use  of  ideas  of  which  they  are  incapable. 

The  term  is  meaningful  only  when  applied  to  des- 
ignate persons  of  good  intelligence,  who  are  defective 
or  perverted  in  instinct.  There  exist  persons  who  are 
intelligent,  yet  incorrigible;  persons  who  persist  in 
criminal  behavior,  who  do  not  feel  the  emotions  or- 
dinarily felt,  and  who  seem  incapable  of  responding 
to  ethical  ideals.  These  may  properly  be  called 
moral  imbeciles. 

The  Moral  Training  of  Mental  Defectives.  Can 
the  school  do  anything  to  instill  morals  in  the  men- 
tally defective  children?  Can  the  school  aid  at  all 
in  preventing  the  crimes  and  misdemeanors  which 
they  commit,  as  children  and  as  adults? 

We  must  refer  forward  for  a  moment  to  the  discus- 
sion of  the  way  in  which  improvement  takes  place 
in  the  feeble-minded.  It  takes  place  only  through 
the  formation  of  specific  habits.  What  is  true  of 
skill,  is  true  of  morals  as  well. 


168     PSYCHOLOGY   OP   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

If  it  were  possible  for  the  school  to  foresee  and  re- 
produce every  situation  involving  instinct  to  which 
the  defective  would  have  to  respond  in  the  course  of 
life,  and  could  by  repetition  connect  permanently  the 
desired  response  with  each  situation,  it  might  insure 
morals  just  as  it  can  insure  skill.  This  being  ut- 
terly impossible,  the  school  can  only  select  certain 
general  situations,  and  strive  to  connect  the  desired 
response  with  each,  by  many  repetitions.  To  the 
situation  *  a  dumb  animal '  it  may  strive  to  attach 
the  response  '  be  kind ' ;  to  the  situation  '  an  object 
that  is  not  mine  '  it  may  strive  to  attach  the  response 
'  don't  take  it ' ;  to  the  situation  '  being  angry  '  it  may 
strive  to  attach  the  response  '  don't  strike/ 

The  difficulty  always  is  that  the  very  limited  in- 
telligence is  usually  not  capable  of  even  this  amount 
of  generalization.  The  instruction  tends  to  degener- 
ate in  the  mind  of  the  instructed  into  the  much  more 
concrete  situation  '  being  angry  at  Johnny '  and  the 
response  '  don't  hit  him'  without  affecting  relations 
with  Tom,  or  Joe,  or  with  people  at  whom  he  will  be 
angry  ten  years  after  leaving  school. 

It  is  true,  of  course,  that  these  same  limitations 
apply,  though  with  less  and  less  force,  as  we  go  up 
through  all  the  degrees  of  intelligence.  With  the  ma- 
jority of  us  the  moral  code  is  to  some  extent  a  matter 
of  specific  instruction,  and  it  is  only  the  exceptional 
intellect  that  can  construct  for  itself  a  code  of  morals 
on  an  independent  basis,  if  once  the  orthodox  code 


INSTINCTS   OF   THE    FEEBLE-MINDED        169 

handed  down  by  specific  instruction  has  been  under- 
mined. Normal  intelligence  is  capable  of  learning 
the  response  '  don't  take  it '  to  the  situation  '  some- 
thing that  is  not  mine.'  Yet  it  tends  to  apprehend 
the  words  very  concretely,  and  seldom  makes  the 
generalization  to  include  the  time  of  busy  persons, 
taxes  that  the  state  forgot  to  collect,  or  sacrifices  of 
others  who  toil  in  its  behalf. 

In  amenability  to  moral  education,  as  in  all  other 
respects,  the  feeble-minded  differ  from  the  normal 
not  in  kind,  but  only  in  degree. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Binet,  A.,  and  Simon,  Th.,  The  Intelligence  of  the  Feeble- 
Minded.    Trans,  by  E.  Kite.    The  Training   School.    Vineland, 
N.  J.    1916. 

2.  Ellis,  F.  W.,  and  Bingham,  A.  T.,  Mental  Examinationa. 
New  York  Probation  and  Protective  Association.    1915. 

3.  Fernald,   W.   E.,  The   Imbecile  with   Criminal   Instincts. 
American  Journal  of  Insanity.    April,  1909. 

4.  Goddard,  H.  H.,  The  Criminal  Imbecile.    The  Macmillan 
Company,  New  York.    1915. 

5.  Grossmann,  W.  H.,  The  Atypical  Child  —  Its  Instincts  and 
Moral  Status.    Bulletin  of  the  American  Academy  of  Medicine. 
April,  1907. 

6.  Hastings,  G.  A.,  What  Shall  be  Done  with  Defective  De- 
linquents?   New  York  Committee  on  Feeble-Mindedness.    New 
York.    1918. 

7.  McDougall,  W.,  Social  Psychology.    Methuen  and  Com- 
pany, London.    1908. 

8.  McLear,  M.,  The  Fact  of  Personality  in  the  Development 
of  an  Atypical  Child.    Pedagogical  Seminary.    March,  1913. 

9.  Moore,  F.,  Mending  Immoral   Morons.    National  Prison 
Congress.    Oct.,  1911. 

10.  Thorndike,  E.  L.,  The  Original  Nature  of  Man.    Teachers 
College,  Columbia  University.    1914. 

11.  Weidensall,  J.,  The  Mentality  of  the  Criminal  Woman. 
Warwick  and  York,  Baltimore.    1916. 


CHAPTER   X 

HOW   DO   THE    MENTALLY   DEFECTIVE   LEARN? 

The  Learning  Process.  In  Chapter  V  we  showed 
that  the  feeble-minded  differ  from  the  normal  and 
superior  not  in  kind,  but  only  in  degree.  Thus  the 
nature  of  learning  will  be  of  the  same  kind  in  them 
as  in  ordinary  children.  It  is  not  a  part  of  the  pur- 
pose of  this  book  to  present  in  full  the  psychology  of 
the  learning  process.  For  these  facts  a  standard 
text  on  educational  psychology  should  be  consulted. 
Briefly  it  may  be  stated  that  all  behavior,  both 
learned  and  unlearned,  may  be  reduced  in  the  last 
analysis  to  specific  responses  to  given  situations. 
We  spend  our  days  being  stimulated  by  our  envi- 
ronment and  responding  to  it.  The  responses  of 
which  men  and  other  animals  are  by  original  nature 
capable  are  instinctive,  or  unlearned.  It  is  the  task 
of  education  to  modify  and  amplify  these  responses 
in  such  a  way  that  the  individual  may  become  as  well 
adapted  as  may  be  to  the  purposes  of  the  social  body 
of  which  he  is  a  member.  The  extent  to  which  edu- 
cation is  effective  varies  greatly  with  individual 
differences  in  original  nature,  which  were  discussed 
in  Chapter  I.  The  psychology  which  underlies  such 

170 


HOW  DO  THE  MENTALLY  DEFECTIVE  LEARN?    171 

modification  is,  however,  the  same  in  kind  for  all 
animals,  both  brutes  and  men.  A  definite  response  is 
made  over  and  over  again  to  a  given  situation,  and  a 
bond  is  formed  in  the  nervous  system  of  the  learner, 
so  that  when  that  situation  is  presented  to  him  he 
makes  that  response.  This  is  the  principle  of  prac- 
tice, upon  which  all  learning  depends.  Its  basis  is 
physiological.  The  elements  of  the  nervous  system 
having  acted  in  a  certain  way,  tend  more  easily  to  act 
in  that  way  again,  (provided  that  the  action  be  not 
followed  by  pain  or  discomfort).  When  the  response 
through  long  practice  comes  very  easily  and  quickly, 
we  say  that  a  habit  has  been  formed. 

The  kinds  and  complexity  of  habits  which  an  in- 
dividual can  form  depend,  of  course,  not  only  on  prac- 
tice, but  also  on  the  sensitivity  and  complexity  of  his 
nervous  system.  A  baby  of  one  year  cannot  form 
habits  of  reading  and  writing,  because  he  is  not  as 
yet  sensitive  to  the  situation  '  a  white  page  contain- 
ing numerous  tiny  black  marks,  each  of  which  has 
a  definite  meaning  peculiar  to  it.'  Human  beings 
learn  that  which  they  can  learn  according  to  the 
same  general  laws,  but  not  all  are  capable  of  learning 
the  same  things,  even  with  a  maximum  of  practice. 

How  Do  the  Feeble-Minded  Compare  with  Nor- 
mals of  the  Same  Age?  Some  years  ago,  before  any 
experimental  study  of  the  feeble-minded  had  been 
made,  it  was  often  affirmed  that  they  are  character- 
ized by  incapacity  for  sustained  voluntary  effort,  by 


172    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

lack  of  attention,  in  short  by  inability  to  learn. 
These  conclusions  came  no  doubt  from  general  ob- 
servation of  the  fact  that  compared  with  normal  per- 
sons of  the  same  age  they  are  unable  to  profit  by  in- 
struction. 

This  general  observation  was  later  borne  out  by 
experimental  studies  of  feeble-minded  children,  as 
compared  with  normal  children  of  their  age,  or  with 
normal  children  in  the  same  school  grade.  Figure 
14  shows  graphically  the  rate  of  learning  of  a  subnor- 
mal school  child,  as  compared  with  a  normal  member 
of  his  grade  in  school.  It  is  noticeable  that  the  curve 
for  the  subnormal  child  rises  slowly,  and  never  at- 
tains the  goal  finally  attained  by  normal  children, 
who  are  as  old  as  he  is. 

How  Do  the  Feeble-Minded  Compare  with  Nor- 
mals of  the  Same  Mental  Age?  The  comparison  of 
the  feeble-minded  with  normals  of  the  same  chron- 
ological age  is  not  the  only,  nor  yet  the  most  fruitful 
method  of  gleaning  the  desired  information  about 
the  learning  processes  of  the  former.  Another 
method  of  analysis  is  to  compare  the  learning  of  the 
feeble-minded  with  the  learning  of  normal  children  of 
the  same  mental  age.  We  know  very  well,  both 
from  common  observation  and  from  experiment,  that 
a  fifteen-year-old  defective,  with  a  mental  age  of 
eight  years,  cannot  learn  as  a  normal  fifteen-year-old 
can.  The  question  is,  can  he  learn  as  well  as,  or 
better  than,  an  average  eight-year-old  can? 


15 


20 


45 


40 


35 


30 


25 


15 


10 


T     I    I     j     J      r 


LEARNING  CURVES 
(Strong) 


ACHIEVEMENT  OF  TWO  CHILDREN 
OF  EQUAL  BIRTHDAY  AGE 


i   i   i 


TR.ALSOF.ON.EM.NUTEEACH     ,     , 


,      , 


-45 


4.0 


-35 


30 


25 


20 


15 


10 


15 


20 


FIG.  14.  —  Curves  showing  the  course  of  learning  in  a  defective  child, 
and  in  a  normal  child,  of  equal  birthday  age.  (From  Strong.  Repro- 
duced by  courtesy  of  The  Psychological  Bulletin.) 

173 


174    PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

Dr.  Woodrow  studied  this  question,  at  the 
State  School  for  the  Feeble-Minded,  in  Faribault, 
Minnesota.  A  group  of  feeble-minded  inmates, 
averaging  a  mental  age  of  8  years,  10  months  was 
compared  with  a  group  of  normal  public  school  chil- 
dren, averaging  9  years,  1  month  in  age.  (Both  of 
these  groups  may  be  said  to  have  been  9  years  old 
mentally.)  These  children  in  both  groups  were  of 
equal  initial  ability  in  the  tasks  which  were  set 
them,  namely,  sorting  sticks  into  boxes,  sorting  col- 
ored pegs,  cancelling  letters,  and  cancelling  geometri- 
cal forms. 

These  two  groups,  almost  exactly  equal  in  mental 
age,  and  in  initial  ability  in  the  situations  named, 
were  given  thirteen  days  of  practice  in  sorting  gun 
wads,  on  which  were  pasted  labels  bearing  the  printed 
outlines  of  simple  geometrical  forms.  There  were 
five  different  kinds  of  these  labels,  and  wads  bearing 
the  same  kind  of  label  had  to  be  sorted  into  the  same 
box.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  this  task  has  many  ele- 
ments in  common  with  simple  factory  operations. 

After  thirteen  days  of  practice  (consecutive  ex- 
cept for  Saturday  and  Sunday)  the  records  of  both 
the  feeble-minded  and  the  normal  were  scored,  in 
order  to  compare  the  two  groups  in  learning.  The 
facts  can  be  conveyed  most  clearly  by  presenting  the 
complete  table  of  results.  The  table  shows  the  ini- 
tial trial,  the  final  trial,  and  the  improvement 
(amount  of  learning)  is  given  for  each  child,  both 


HOW  DO  THE  MENTALLY  DEFECTIVE  LEARN?    175 


feeble-minded  and  normal,  in  terms  of  the  number  of 
wads  correctly  sorted.  The  percentage  improvement 
is  also  given. 

THE    ABSOLUTE   AND   PERCENTAGE    IMPROVEMENT   OF    EACH 

CHILD  OF  BOTH  NORMAL  AND  FEEBLE-MINDED  GROUPS 

(Woodrow) 


FEEBLE-MINDED 

NORMAL 

Child 

Initial 
Trial 

Final 
Trial 

Im- 
prove- 
ment 

T% 

Imp. 

Initial 
Trial 

Final 
Trial 

Im- 
prove- 
ment 

T% 

Imp. 

1 

129 

175 

46 

36 

147 

197 

50 

34 

2 

94 

146 

52 

55 

144 

176 

32 

22 

3 

154 

201 

47 

33 

130 

191 

61 

47 

4 

112 

203 

91 

81 

119 

166 

47 

39 

5 

120 

193 

73 

61 

114 

197 

83 

73 

6 

108 

167 

59 

55 

118 

159 

41 

35 

7 

127 

144 

17 

13 

107 

173 

66 

62 

8 

94 

209 

115 

123 

125 

163 

38 

30 

9 

136 

166 

30 

22 

100 

132 

32 

32 

10 

120 

142 

22 

18 

122 

213 

91 

75 

11 

138 

184 

46 

33 

113 

186 

73 

65 

12 

125 

182 

57 

46 

104 

163 

59 

57 

13 

83 

111 

28 

34 

99 

144 

45 

45 

14 

127 

212 

85 

67 

121 

156 

35 

29 

15 

122 

103 

-19 

-16 

155 

204 

49 

32 

16 

104 

149 

45 

43 

129 

199 

70 

54 

17 

124 

179 

55 

44 

18 

140 

214 

74 

53 

19 

142 

208 

66 

47 

20 

114 

203 

89 

78 

Av.  . 

121 

175 

54 

49 

122 

176 

54 

46 

It  is  worth  while  to  dwell  at  some  length  upon  this 
investigation,  because  the  results  of  such  an  experi- 
ment are  worth  more  than  all  the  surmises  and  ex- 


176     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

pressions  of  personal  opinion  that  could  be  collected. 
The  time  has  passed  when  educators  were  satisfied 
to  base  their  procedure  on  dogmatic  opinions.  They 
are  now  seeking  the  basis  of  sound  experimentation. 
The  question  whether  feeble-minded  children  show 
the  same  improvement  with  practice  as  do  normal 
children  of  the  same  mental  age,  is  answered  affirma- 
tively in  this  experiment.  They  learn  as  much,  and 
they  learn  at  the  same  rate,  as  do  the  normal  nine- 
year-old  children.  In  actual  (chronological)  age  the 
two  groups  were,  of  course,  very  different.  The 
feeble-minded  learners  ranged  from  nineteen  years 
to  ten  years,  with  an  average  age  of  thirteen  years, 
eight  months.  The  normal  children  ranged  between 
ten  years  and  eight  years  in  actual  age,  with  an  aver- 
age of  nine  years,  one  month. 

The  curves  in  Figure  15  present  a  graphic  picture 
of  the  comparative  performance  of  the  two  groups. 
They  travel  together,  crossing  and  re-crossing  each 
other  from  trial  to  trial. 

If  we  had  a  curve  showing  the  performance  of  nor- 
mal children,  of  an  average  age  of  fourteen  years,  it 
would  undoubtedly  travel  above  these  two  curves, 
even  in  a  process  as  simple  as  this  of  sorting  forms. 
The  older  normal  children  would  learn  faster  and 
would  learn  more  than  would  the  younger  normal 
children,  or  the  feeble-minded  of  their  own  age. 

One  further  experiment  in  the  learning  of  the 
feeble-minded  as  compared  with  normals  of  the  same 


HOW  DO  THE  MENTALLY  DEFECTIVE  LEARN?    177 

mental  age  has  been  carried  out.  In  order  to  meas- 
ure the  amount  of  material  learned  in  a  year  by 
feeble-minded  children,  as  compared  with  normal 
children  of  the  same  mental  age,  Dr.  Murdoch  stud- 
ied a  number  of  inmates  at  the  Pennsylvania  School 


LEARNING  CURVES  OF  MENTAL 

DEFECTIVES  AND  OF  NORMAL 

CHILDREN  OF  EQUAL  MENTAL  AGE 


12 


FIG.  15.  —  Curves  showing  the  course  of  learning  in  defectives  and  in 
normal  children,  of  equal  mental  age.  (From  Woodrow.  Reproduced 
by  courtesy  of  The  Journal  of  Educational  Psychology.) 

for  the  Feeble-Minded,  whose  mental  ages  had  been 
ascertained.  First  the  ability  of  these  children  was 
determined  by  educational  measurement,  in  reading, 
spelling,  arithmetic,  handwriting,  composition,  draw- 
ing, and  language.  Exactly  one  year  later  they  were 


178    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

remeasured  in  the  same  abilities.  Since  it  is  known 
how  much  average  children  of  each  school  grade 
improve  in  these  abilities  in  a  year,  and  since  it  is 
known  what  the  average  age  in  each  grade  is,  com- 
parison between  the  feeble-minded  and  the  normal 
on  the  basis  of  mental  age  seems  permissible. 

The  outcome  of  the  investigation  was  that  of  chil- 
dren starting  the  year's  work  with  the  same  mental 
age,  the  normal  learn  much  more  within  the  allotted 
period  than  do  the  feeble-minded.  From  this  result 
the  investigator  drew  the  conclusion  that  the  feeble- 
minded learn  much  less  than  do  normal  children  of 
equal  mental  age,  in  those  school  subjects  which 
she  studied;  and  that  Woodrow's  results,  show- 
ing equality  of  improvement  in  sorting  forms,  was 
not  substantiated  for  the  presumably  more  complex 
abilities,  —  reading,  spelling,  arithmetic,  handwrit- 
ing, composition,  drawing,  and  language. 

Analysis  will  soon  show  us,  however,  that  there  is 
no  discrepancy  between  the  results  of  the  two  experi- 
ments. The  fact  simply  is  that  in  the  case  of  a  learn- 
ing process,  which  extends  over  a  period  as  long  as 
a  year,  the  children  do  not  remain  of  equal  mental 
age.  If  we  start  a  year's  task  with  a  group  of  feeble- 
minded, who  are  nine  years  old  mentally,  and  a  group 
of  normal  children  who  are  nine  years  old,  at  the  end 
of  the  year  the  feeble-minded  will  still  be  approxi- 
mately nine  years  old  mentally,  whereas  the  normal 
children  will  have  reached  the  mental  age  of  ten  years. 


HOW  DO  THE  MENTALLY  DEFECTIVE  LEARN?    179 

This  is  true  because  the  normal  children  are  growing 
mentally  at  the  average  rate,  while  the  feeble-minded 
are  not.  In  the  lapse  of  thirteen  days  the  two  groups 
do  not  have  time  to  draw  apart  appreciably  in 
growth.  Hence  in  the  first  experiment,  that  of 
Dr.  Woodrow,  we  really  have  a  comparison  of 
groups  of  equal  mental  age  throughout.  In  three 
hundred  and  sixty-five  days,  however,  the  two  groups 
draw  very  definitely  apart.  Hence  in  Dr.  Murdoch's 
experiment  we  soon  cease  to  have  groups  of  equal 
mental  age  for  comparison.  The  superior  records 
of  the  normal  children  are  due,  most  probably,  to 
growth,  and  not  to  superior  ability  to  practice  at  the 
mental  age  specified.  The  results  of  these  two 
studies  are  thus  in  no  way  contradictory.  On  the 
contrary,  they  supplement  each  other. 

Transfer  of  Training  in  Normal  and  Feeble- 
Minded  Children.  It  is  a  fundamental  principle  of 
educational  psychology  that  by  practicing  for  a  pe- 
riod of  time  in  the  performance  of  a  given  task, 
an  individual  will  be  aided  in  the  performance  of 
other  tasks,  which  have  elements  in  common  with  it. 
This  principle  is  usually  called  the  principle  of  trans- 
fer of  training.  Now  it  might  be  that  normal  and 
feeble-minded  children  of  equal  mental  age  show  the 
same  improvement  in  an  activity  practiced,  but  un- 
equal transfer  of  that  learning  to  related  activities. 

That  there  is  no  spread  of  improvement  in  the  case 
of  the  feeble-minded  has  been  affirmed.  As  in  the 


180    PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

case  of  the  question  of  improvement  in  a  task  specifi- 
cally practiced,  this  statement  has  rested  on  com- 
mon observations,  comparing  the  feeble-minded  with 
normal  persons  of  equal  chronological  age.  Many 
anecdotes  are  current  in  illustration  of  this  point. 
For  instance,  an  imbecile  by  prolonged  practice  un- 
der instruction  learned  to  make  beds  very  well,  work- 
ing by  herself.  After  a  time  it  was  desired  to  expe- 
dite the  bed-making,  and  another  girl  was  assigned 
to  work  with  the  first,  in  the  performance  of  her  task, 
the  plan  being  to  have  them  work  simultaneously  on 
a  bed.  It  was  then  found  that  the  imbecile  who  had 
learned  to  make  the  beds  by  herself  had  to  be  re- 
taught  to  make  beds  with  a  helper.  As  soon  as  the 
situation  became  different  in  certain  elements,  what 
she  had  learned  ceased  to  function. 

Another  illustration  may  be  cited  in  the  case  of 
three  imbecile  men  who  were  asked  to  scrub  a  large 
floor.  Each  man  had  learned  to  scrub  a  floor  by 
himself,  bringing  the  water  and  soap,  scouring  the 
boards,  rinsing  off  the  soap,  and  wiping  up  as  he 
went.  Each  of  them  began  in  this  manner  on  a  sec- 
tion of  the  floor.  The  psychologist  of  the  institution 
decided  to  introduce  cooperation  as  an  experiment. 
She  showed  how  one  of  them  could  bring  the  water, 
another  could  scour,  and  the  third  could  wipe  up  the 
suds  after  him.  This  innovation  resulted  in  much 
confusion.  As  compared  with  what  would  have  been 
the  case  with  normal  men  of  their  chronological  age, 


HOW  DO  THE  MENTALLY  DEFECTIVE  LEARN?    181 

there  appeared  to  be  no  transfer  of  training  in  the 
one  activity  to  the  other  so  closely  like  it.  But  it 
is  necessary  to  remember  in  all  these  instances  that 
the  mental  ages  of  these  imbeciles  ranged  between 
three  and  five  years.  The  transfer  of  skill  may  well 
have  been  fully  as  great  in  their  case  as  it  would  have 
been  with  normal  children  of  three  to  five  years. 

In  order  to  throw  light  upon  this  question  in  the 
learning  of  the  feeble-minded,  Dr.  Woodrow 
experimented  further  with  his  groups  of  children. 
At  the  end  of  the  thirteen  days  of  practice  in  sorting 
geometrical  forms,  all  the  children  were  again  tested 
for  sorting  sticks  and  pegs,  for  cancelling  forms 
and  letters.  It  is  not  necessary  to  rehearse  the 
procedure  in  full  detail  here.  It  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  all  the  requirements  of  scientific  method 
were  fulfilled  in  the  experiment  (including  "  control 
groups  "  of  both  normal  and  feeble-minded  children, 
who  took  the  end  tests  in  each  instance,  but  who 
did  not  practice  sorting  forms  during  the  thirteen  in- 
tervening days).  The  result  showed  that  no  differ- 
ence in  amount  of  transference  of  improvement 
could  be  demonstrated,  between  the  normal  and  the 
feeble-minded  of  equal  mental  age. 

The  Importance  of  Mental  Age  in  Learning.  It  is 
obvious  that  none  of  these  facts  of  educational  psy- 
chology, so  illuminating  to  the  teacher  of  defectives, 
could  have  been  discovered  before  means  had  been 
devised  for  determining  mental  age.  Mental  age, 


182    PSYCHOLOGY   OP   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

not  chronological  age,  is  the  basis  of  the  learning 
curve.     Ability  to  profit  by  instruction  depends  not 


FIG.  16.  —  Writing  of  feeble-minded  individuals,  as  compared  with 
that  of  normal  children  of  equal  mental  age ;  illustrating  the  importance 
of  mental  age  in  achievement. 

on  how  long  the  individual  has  been  in  existence,  but 
on  the  complexity  and  sensitivity  of  his  nervous 
system.  This  complexity  and  sensitivity  is  repre- 


HOW  DO  THE  MENTALLY  DEFECTIVE  LEARN?    183 


sented  by  the  concept  of  mental  age,  which  shows  the 
stage  of  intellectual  growth  attained. 


S3. 


m 


BM  d- 


Ale nt*. I   A<|ft 

FIG.  17.  —  Drawings  of  a  house,  comparing  a  feeble-minded  adult 
with  a  normal  child  of  equal  mental  age;  illustrating  the  importance' 
of  mental  age  in  achievement. 

In  children  the  nervous  system  becomes  sensitive 
to  a  greater  number  of  situations,  as  it  grows  from 
year  to  year.  This  is  true  of  all  children,  but  the 


184    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 


rate  of  growth  and  the  ultimate  limits  of  growth  vary 
greatly  from  individual  to  individual.  The  kind  and 
number  of  habits  an  individual  can  form  at  any  given 
time  are  conditioned  by  the  stage  of  mental  growth 


8  y^. 


I'WU). 


FIG.  18.  —  Drawings  of  a  man,  comparing  a  feeble-minded  adult  with 
a  normal  child  of  equal  mental  age  ;  illustrating  the  importance  of 
mental  age  in  achievement. 

which  he  has  then  reached.  Thus  one  of  the  first 
questions  which  a  teacher  needs  to  have  answered 
about  the  child  placed  under  her  care  is  this:  What 
is  his  mental  age? 

It  is  for  the  psychology  of  the  immediate  future 


HOW  DO  THE  MENTALLY  DEFECTIVE  LEARN?    185 

to  discover  much  more  than  is  now  known  about  the 
kinds  of  habits  which  are  learnable  at  various  mental 
levels.  As  far  as  the  standard  school  curriculum  is 
concerned  this  has  been  worked  out  by  the  rough 
method  of  trial  and  error,  so  that  on  the  whole  there 
is  given  in  each  school  grade  that  which  can  be 
grasped  and  learned  by  children  of  the  age  which  is 
average  for  that  grade.  For  tasks  not  included  in  the 
conventional  school  curriculum,  we  are  almost  al- 
together without  this  information.  At  what  mental 
age  is  it  possible  to  form  adequately  the  habits  of  a 
chauffeur?  of  a  gardener?  of  a  cook?  of  a  paper-box 
maker?  of  a  chemist?  In  answer  to  these  questions 
we  have  only  preliminary  data  collected  from  the 
mental  tests  in  the  army,  and  a  few  preliminary 
studies  of  ungraded  class  children  whose  industrial 
careers  have  been  followed  after  they  left  school. 

Mental  Age  Is  Not  the  Sole  Condition  of  Learning, 
though  it  is  the  single  most  important  condition. 
We  have  already  seen  that  children  of  the  same 
mental  age  vary  somewhat  in  their  ability  to  per- 
form given  tasks.  The  human  mind  is  far  too  com- 
plex to  be  completely  inventoried  by  a  single  figure 
representing  the  general  level  of  intelligence.  We 
find  cases  of  very  marked  special  ability  or  disability 
in  the  feeble-minded,  just  as  we  find  them  in  children 
of  every  other  quality  of  general  intelligence.  This 
has  already  been  fully  discussed  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter. Moreover,  differences  in  temperament,  interest, 


186    PSYCHOLOGY  OP  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

and  control,  which  are  not  intellectual  traits,  are 
found  among  persons  of  equal  mental  age,  and  they 
too  exert  an  influence  on  learning,  by  determining 
attitude.  Sensory  defects  and  physical  defects 
sometimes  play  a  part,  also,  in  producing  differences 
in  improvement  among  those  of  the  same  degree  of 
general  intellectual  capacity. 

Summary  of  the  Psychology  of  Learning  in  the 
Case  of  Subnormal  Children.  We  may  summarize 
our  present  knowledge  of  the  learning  process  in  the 
feeble-minded  thus:  (1)  The  feeble-minded  cannot 
learn  as  well  as  the  normal  of  equal  chronological 
age.  They  cannot  learn  simple  tasks  at  the  same 
rate,  and  they  cannot  learn  the  more  difficult  tasks 
at  all.  (2)  The  feeble-minded  learn  at  the  same 
rate,  and  in  the  same  way,  as  normal  children  of  equal 
mental  age,  in  tasks  in  which  both  have  been  experi- 
mentally tested.1  (3)  There  is  no  necessary  relation 
between  ability  to  learn  specific  tasks  appropriate  to 
a  given  mental  age,  and  ability  to  grow  from  one 
mental  age  to  another.  (4)  No  difference  in  amount 
of  transference  of  training  from  practice  in  one  task 
to  the  performance  of  other  tasks  having  common 
elements,  has  been  demonstrated  to  exist  between 


1 1  am  informed  by  Dr.  S.  S.  Colyin  that  the  unpublished  data 
from  his  experiments  on  the  learning  of  the  feeble-minded  as 
compared  with  normal  children  of  equal  mental  age,  show  that 
the  former  learned  as  much  as  did  the  latter,  in  the  tasks  which 
were  set;  but  that  the  learning  curves  of  the  feeble-minded  were 
decidedly  more  irregular  in  outline  than  were  those  of  the  normal 
children. 


HOW  DO  THE  MENTALLY  DEFECTIVE  LEARN?    187 

the  feeble-minded  and  normal  children  of  equal 
mental  age.  The  spread  of  improvement  is  appar- 
ently the  same  for  both. 

Implications  for  Education.  The  teacher  who  has 
thoroughly  mastered  the  results  of  these  studies  will 
be  in  position  to  understand  many  of  the  most  essen- 
tial principles  underlying  the  educational  treatment 
of  subnormal  children.  In  the  first  place  it  is  ap- 
parent that  no  intelligent  plan  for  the  instruction  of 
a  child  can  be  instituted  until  his  mental  level  is 
known.  Under  ideal  conditions  this  will  be  deter- 
mined by  the  school  psychologist,  whose  work  it  is 
to  make  mental  examinations  and  determine  traits 
and  aptitudes.  At  present  only  a  few  state  depart- 
ments of  education  are  equipped  to  furnish  the  serv- 
ices of  well  trained  psychologists.  In  the  larger 
cities  such  services  are  rapidly  becoming  available, 
particularly  where  special  classes  have  been  organ- 
ized. 

In  the  second  place,  the  child  will  generally  be  ca- 
pable of  performing  school  work  which  can  be  mas- 
tered by  average  children  of  his  mental  level.  If  his 
mental  age  is  eight  years,  he  will  be  able  to  learn  sub- 
ject matter  becoming  to  ordinary  eight-year-olds. 
Eight-year-olds  are  normally  in  the  second  or  third 
grade  (according  to  community). 

However,  where  special  classes  have  been  organized 
it  is  usual  to  prescribe  a  special  curriculum  for  the 
subnormal  children,  since  their  ultimate  achievement 


188    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

will  be  very  limited  at  best.  It  is  a  waste  of  time  and 
effort  to  teach  deficient  children  the  subject  matter 
which  underlies  the  understanding  of  fractions,  or 
of  syntax,  when  it  is  known  that  no  matter  how  long 
they  may  live  they  will  never  attain  a  mental  level 
which  is  capable  of  learning  fractions  and  syntax. 
From  these  practical  economic  and  social  considera- 
tions a  modified  curriculum  has  been  worked  out,  and 
will  continue  to  be  worked  out  as  our  knowledge  of 
applied  psychology  increases.  The  content  and  or- 
ganization of  this  curriculum  cannot,  however,  be 
determined  by  psychology,  but  by  educational  aims 
and  educational  methods,  emanating  from  current 
social  philosophy. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Baldwin,  B.  T.,  The  Learning  of  Delinquent  Adolescent 
Girls  as  Shown  by  a  Substitution  Test.    Journal  of  Educational 
Psychology.    June,  1913. 

2.  Colvin,  S.  S.,  The  Learning  Process.    The  Macmillan  Com- 
pany, New  York.    13th  ed.    1918. 

3.  Colvin,  S.  S.,  Aspects  of  the  Learning  Curve.    Proceedings 
of  the  American  Psychological  Association.    Psychological  Bulle- 
tin.   1915. 

4.  Johnson,  B.,  Practice  Effects  in  a  Target  Test.    A  Compar- 
ison of  Groups  Varying  in  Intelligence.    Psychological  Review. 
July,  1919. 

5.  Kuhlmann,  F.,  Experimental  Studies  in  Mental  Deficiency. 
American  Journal  of  Psychology.    1904. 

6.  Murdoch,  K.,  Rate  of  Improvement  of  the  Feeble-Minded 
as  Shown  by   Standardized  Educational  Tests.    Journal  of  Ap- 
plied Psychology.    Sept.,  1918. 

7.  Strong,  E.  K.,  The  Learning  Curve  as  a  Diagnostic  Meas- 
ure  of   Intelligence.    Psychological   Bulletin.    Vol.  XIV,  p.   153. 
1917. 


HOW  DO  THE  MENTALLY  DEFECTIVE  LEARN?    189 

8.  Thorndike,   E.  L.,  The   Psychology   of   Learning.    Educa- 
tional Psychology,  Vol.  II.    Teachers  College,  Columbia  Univer- 
sity.   1913. 

9.  Woodrow,  H.,  Practice  and  Transference  in  Normal  and 
Feeble-Minded    Children.    Journal    of    Educational    Psychology. 
Feb.,  1916  and  March,  1917. 


CHAPTER   XI 

CAN   THE   MENTALLY  DEFICIENT  BE   MADE   NORMAL 
BY  ANY   SYSTEM   OF   EDUCATION? 

Is  it  Possible  to  Overcome  Mental  Deficiency?  It 
has  already  been  stated  that  the  proper  treatment  of 
mental  deficiency  is  educational.  Science  knows  of 
no  medical  or  surgical  treatment  which  has  any  re- 
medial effect,  except  in  cretinism,  and  in  those  few 
cases  which  result  from  injury  to  the  nervous  system 
in  children  who  were  potentially  normal.  These 
facts  are  well  stated  by  Tredgold,  who  is  the  most 
scientific  and  authoritative  writer  on  the  subject 
among  medical  men : 

"  In  view  of  the  fact  that  primary  amentia  —  to  which  form  the 
great  majority  of  cases  of  mental  deficiency  belong  —  is  due  to 
a  diminished  innate  potentiality  for  development  —  in  other  words, 
to  a  formative  defect  of  the  tissue  which  constitutes  the  physi- 
cal basis  of  mind  —  it  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  medicaments 
would  have  any  remedial  effect,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is 
no  drug  which  has  the  slightest  direct  or  specific  influence  upon 
this  condition.  Cases  of  secondary  amentia,  however,  stand  on 
a  different  plane,  in  that  in  them  the  mental  defect  is  not  due 
to  an  innate  blight,  but  to  the  fact  that  development  has  been 
handicapped  or  arrested  by  some  external  factor,  and  where  this 
can  be  overcome  by  the  administration  of  drugs,  a  considerable 
improvement,  or  even  cure,  may  be  brought  about.  ...  At  the 
same  time  the  cases  which  may  possibly  be  treated  in  this  way 
are  very  few  in  number,  and  in  the  great  majority  of  instances  of 

.   190 


CAN  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY  BE  OVERCOME?      191 

secondary  as  well  as  of  primary  amentia  it  must  be  said  that 
drugs  have  no  direct  effect. 

"  The  same  must  be  said  of  surgical  treatment.  When  the 
theory  was  propounded  that  microcephalus  was  due  to  premature 
synostosis  it  was  natural  that  the  surgeon  should  suggest  relief 
by  craniectomy.  During  the  year  1890,  and  for  a  time  after,  a 
considerable  number  of  operations  were  performed  by  eminent 
men.  .  .  .  The  mortality  was  exceedingly  high  (about  25  per  cent), 
and  those  who  survived  showed  no  mental  improvement.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  the  operation  should  have  been  gradually 
abandoned  by  reputable  surgeons,  and  to-day  it  is  practically 
unheard  of.  It  was  indeed  founded  upon  a  mistaken  notion  of 
the  pathology  of  this  condition,  and  it  may  be  said  that  to-day 
operations  of  this  kind  upon  cases  of  primary  amentia  are  abso- 
lutely unjustifiable." 

We  say  that  the  appropriate  treatment  of  mental 
deficiency  is  educational.  Do  we  mean  by  this  that 
by  training  we  can  bring  a  mental  defective  up  to  nor- 
mal? Or  do  we  mean  only  that  we  can  improve  his 
condition?  And  if  we  can  bring  about  improve- 
ment, in  just  what  does  such  improvement  consist? 

These  are  questions  which  are  asked  with  burning 
interest  by  those  who  are  responsible  for  subnormal 
children. 

Can  Innate  Capacity  for  Learning  Be  Increased? 
Parents,  and  indeed  all  who  are  interested  in  the  wel- 
fare of  human  beings,  hope  most  eagerly  for  an 
affirmative  answer  to  this  question.  Unfortunately 
the  answer  of  science  is  a  negative  one.  Centuries 
ago  it  was  observed  that  man  by  taking  thought 
cannot  "  add  one  cubit  to  his  stature."  Just  so, 
by  taking  thought  no  educator  can  add  to  the  intelli- 
gence quotient  of  a  defective  child.  Accident  or 


192     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

disease  may  degrade  to  the  level  of  idiocy  an  intelli- 
gence that  was  potentially  normal  or  superior,  but 
no  means  has  ever  been  discovered  of  increasing  the 
intellectual  capacity  of  the  inferior  and  the  mediocre. 

Children  in  state  training  schools,  whose  educa- 
tion has  been  scientifically  directed,  and  whose  men- 
tal growth  has  been  carefully  studied  in  the  mean- 
time by  psychologists,  have  not  tended  to  become 
normal  as  a  result  of  their  training.  On  the  contrary, 
they  show  the  same  very  slight  and  gradual  decrease 
of  the  intelligence  quotient  which  is  shown  by  sub- 
normal children  in  general,  as  the  years  of  their  de- 
velopment pass. 

Intelligence,  the  capacity  for  learning,  the  capac- 
ity for  comprehending  and  making  adaptations  to 
the  environment,  is  the  result  of  growth,  and  can- 
not be  acquired  by  any  course  of  training.  As  has 
been  reiterated  in  these  pages,  its  basis  is  physiologi- 
cal, and  dependent  upon  the  inherited  potentiality  of 
the  nervous  system  to  become  complex  and  sensitive. 
Nervous  systems  vary  in  respect  to  this  potentiality, 
just  as  eyes  vary  in  color,  and  teeth  in  hardness,  from 
individual  to  individual.  Education  cannot  supply 
complexity  and  sensitivity.  Education  can  only  di- 
rect and  control  such  complexity  and  sensitivity  as 
are  constitutionally  present  in  the  individual. 

Fallacies  Based  on  Inadequate  Experimentation. 
Mistaken  conclusions  have  sometimes  been  drawn  in 
the  past  by  well-meaning  persons,  without  sufficient 


CAN  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY  BE   OVERCOME?      193 

knowledge  of  scientific  method.  For  example,  the 
present  writer  knows  of  various  cases  in  which  a 
child  has  been  measured  at  the  beginning  of  a  course 
of  training,  and  then  remeasured  at  the  end  of  a  year 
or  two,  and  in  which  the  experimenters  have  enthu- 
siastically ascribed  the  rise  in  mental  level  found  on 
the  last  examination  to  the  training  undergone  in  the 
meantime.  The  humane  desire  to  demonstrate  that 
"  there  is  hope  for  such  children  "  has  in  such  in- 
stances supplanted  ideas  of  scientific  procedure. 
The  fact  is  not  considered  that  mental  development 
would  undoubtedly  have  taken  place  in  the  interim, 
even  if  the  child  had  had  no  special  training.  The 
question  never  is,  Has  development  taken  place? 
The  question  is,  Has  greater  development  taken 
place  than  would  have  taken  place  without  the  spe- 
cial education? 

The  investigation  of  this  question  may  properly 
be  undertaken  in  either  of  two  ways.  The  investi- 
gator may  measure  a  number  of  feeble-minded  sub- 
jects who  are  past  the  age  when  any  spontaneous 
growth  will  take  place.  After  measuring  them,  he 
may  subject  them  for  a  long  period  to  whatever  edu- 
cational system  he  may  deem  desirable.  Thereafter 
he  would  remeasure  them  by  the  same  tests  as  be- 
fore or,  better  still,  by  a  new  set  having  exactly  equal 
value.  If  the  second  test  showed  a  real  gain  in 
capacity,  educational  treatment  might  properly  be 
said  to  have  raised  the  actual  intelligence  level,  for 


194     PSYCHOLOGY    OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

iii  adult  subjects  the  improvement  could  not  be 
ascribed  to  spontaneous  growth. 

However,  it  might  be  deemed  that  such  experi- 
ments are  inconclusive,  because  the  possibility  would 
remain  that  during  years  of  development  growth 
might  be  accelerated,  though  it  could  not  be  stimu- 
lated to  begin  again  in  the  adult  feeble-minded. 
The  second  method  of  inquiry,  therefore,  would  be  to 
take  two  groups  of  feeble-minded  children  of  equal 
initial  capacity  as  measured  by  standard  tests,  and 
after  measuring  them,  to  subject  one  group  to  the 
desired  system  of  instruction,  letting  the  other  group 
go  free.  If  at  the  end  of  a  period  of  time,  upon  being 
remeasured,  the  instructed  group  showed  a  reliable 
gain  over  the  uninstructed  group  in  mental  level, 
the  training  could  properly  be  said  to  have  raised 
the  intelligence  quotient  in  and  of  itself. 

It  is  true  that  psychological  experiments  as  pre- 
cise and  extensive  as  those  here  suggested  have  never 
been  reported.  We  have  only  the  information  that 
the  feeble-minded  inmates  of  state  training  schools 
do  not  tend  to  become  normal  as  a  result  of  the  instruc- 
tion given  them.  We  have  also  Dr.  Terman's  report 
of  repeated  measurements  of  mentally  deficient  chil- 
dren in  the  public  schools,  which  show  that  they  do 
not  tend  to  improve  intellectually  as  a  result  of  their 
school  training.  Thus  all  the  data  at  present  avail- 
able point  in  a  consistent  direction,  indicating  that 
educational  treatment  cannot  increase  the  innate 
capacity  of  a  child. 


CAN  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY  BE   OVERCOME?      195 

What  Can  Educational  Treatment  Do  for  Sub- 
normal Children?  If  the  actual  intellectual  level 
cannot  be  raised,  what  are  the  advantages  to  be 
gained  by  the  training  of  defective  children?  What 
is  the  use  of  bestowing  any  educational  attention 
upon  them?  The  answer  is  to  be  found  in  the  psy- 
chology of  habit  formation.  The  same  considera- 
tions apply  to  them  that  apply  to  all  other  children, 
only  with  special  emphasis  in  their  case,  since  they 
will  need  to  be  taught  many  habits  which  are  spon- 
taneously acquired  by  ordinary  children.  It  is  pos- 
sible to  impart  to  the  feeble-minded  specific  informa- 
tion, and  to  inculcate  in  them  specific  habits,  up  to 
the  limits  of  their  capacity,  whereas  without  skilled 
training  they  grow  up  savage,  filthy,  antisocial, 
helpless,  —  a  great  social  burden.  It  is  in  these 
facts  that  the  most  important  principles  of  the  train- 
ing of  the  mentally  deficient  are  grounded.  Such 
improvement  as  they  are  capable  of  must  come 
through  education,  and  their  education  must  be 
grounded  on  their  capacity  for  forming  specific  asso- 
ciations and  specific  habits  of  conduct,  up  to  the 
limits  of  their  intelligence. 

To  make  this  clearer  let  us  cite  concrete  matters. 
Suppose  a  teacher  to  be  confronted  with  a  ten-year- 
old  child  with  an  intelligence  quotient  of  50.  She 
cannot  by  any  educational  effort  raise  him  to  70  or 
100  intelligence  quotient.  She  can,  however,  by  an 
educational  process  teach  him  to  eat  with  his  spoon 


196    PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

instead  of  with  his  fingers;  to  drink  from  his  glass 
without  spilling  the  fluid  all  down  the  front  of  his 
clothing;  to  comb  his  hair  instead  of  leaving  it  a 
matted  and  tangled  mass;  to  obey  when  spoken  to, 
instead  of  yelling  and  kicking;  and  to  perform  simple 
manual  tasks  which  will  occupy  him,  and  in  doing 
which  he  may  gradually  become  useful,  instead  of 
leaving  him  to  a  savage  and  helpless  existence.  All 
of  these  improvements  can  be  brought  about  by  edu- 
cation, and  by  no  other  means.  Even  though  this 
child  be  destined  to  an  ultimate  level  of  only  eight 
years,  he  may  be  when  adult  either  a  clean,  orderly 
individual,  happily  occupied  with  some  appropriate 
work  under  intelligent  guidance,  or  a  helpless,  filthy 
and  disorderly  person,  without  any  appropriate 
means  of  employing  his  time.  Which  he  shall  be  de- 
pends on  training,  and  thus  directly  upon  teachers. 

In  undertaking  the  education  of  any  child  it  is 
wise  to  learn,  if  possible,  what  his  stage  of  mental 
development  is,  but  with  exceptional  children  this 
is  especially  important.  Mental  level  being  known, 
the  next  step  is  to  begin  the  formation  of  habits  and 
the  imparting  of  information  suitable  to  the  state  of 
intellect.  For  example,  it  would  be  folly  to  spend 
time  trying  to  teach  a  mentality  of  four  years  to 
read  and  write.  The  formation  of  reading  and  writ- 
ing habits  is  not  possible  at  this  level  of  intelligence. 
But  cleanliness  in  personal  habits,  proper  ways  of 
feeding  oneself,  and  intelligible  speech  are  all  pos- 


CAN  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY  BE   OVERCOME?      197 

sible  at  this  level,  and  can  be  taught.  Thus  low- 
grade  imbeciles,  who  without  education  would  be 
filthy,  unintelligible,  and  disgusting  may  be  rendered 
presentable  by  training,  and  that  without  modifying 
the  intelligence  quotient  in  the  slightest. 

The  Nature  of  Improvement  in  the  Feeble- 
minded. It  is  in  the  way  just  described  that  im- 
provement takes  place  in  the  feeble-minded.  A  par- 
ent or  guardian  is  often  highly  gratified  at  the  im- 
provement that  is  shown  by  a  defective  child  during 
a  year  of  residence  in  one  of  the  very  good  boarding 
schools  for  the  feeble-minded,  or  under  the  tutelage 
of  a  skilled  teacher.  They  find  that  the  child  who 
formerly  could  not  dress  himself,  speak  intelligibly, 
or  write  his  name  is  now  able  to  do  all  of  these  things, 
and  much  more.  Their  inference  almost  invariably 
is  that  he  is  "  getting  brighter."  Of  course  some  ac- 
tual growth  will  have  taken  place  in  the  young  child, 
but  the  improvement  which  is  noted  is  due  to  the 
formation  of  specific  habits,  and  to  the  inculcation  of 
specific  information,  far  more  than  to  mental  growth. 
The  child  is  not  really  "  getting  brighter  "  in  any  true 
sense.  He  is  simply  being  trained  up  to  the  limits 
of  his  capacity.  No  hope  is  to  be  entertained  that 
this  newly  acquired  ability  to  dress  himself  where 
formerly  he  could  not,  implies  the  growth  of  ability 
to  keep  out  of  trouble  on  the  streets,  or  to  compete 
successfully  with  his  fellows  in  school  work. 

Such    erroneous    inferences    are    very    naturally 


198    PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

drawn  by  persons  who  have  no  knowledge  of  the 
psychological  facts.  For  instance,  a  very  intelligent 
young  woman  recently  came  to  consult  the  present 
writer  about  a  relative  who  is  mentally  defective. 
This  deficient  woman  is  now  over  thirty  years  of  age, 
and  psychological  examination  shows  her  to  have  a 
mental  age  of  seven  years.  The  young  woman  who 
came  to  consult  about  the  case  felt  that  mental  de- 
velopment must  be  taking  place  in  the  defective  rela- 
tive, because  the  latter  had  now  been  taught  to  lace 
her  own  shoes  since  removal  to  her  aunt's  home, 
whereas  formerly  her  mother  (now  dead)  had  always 
been  obliged  to  lace  them  for  her.  It  was  desired  to 
learn  whether  in  view  of  this  improvement  it  would 
not  ultimately  become  possible  to  trust  this  relative 
to  go  about  like  others,  and  to  be  responsible  for  her 
affairs.  It  seemed  to  her  family  that  since  she  had 
now  learned  to  lace  her  shoes  she  must  be  "  getting 
brighter." 

This  difference  between  intelligence  and  specific 
habit  is  very  nicely  illustrated  in  defectives  who  have 
been  trained  by  persistent  effort  to  write  a  certain 
number  of  words,  but  whose  mental  level  does  not 
permit  of  the  formation  of  general  reading  and  writ- 
ing habits.  Often  one  finds  a  defective  who  can 
write  his  name,  but  little  or  nothing  else.  Such  a 
one  was  Edward,  whose  performances  are  illustrated 
in  Figure  19.  Asked  to  write  his  name  he  wrote 
"  Edward."  Asked  then  to  write  "  Ed  "  he  grinned 


CAN  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY  BE  OVERCOME?    199 


sheepishly,  chewed  his  pencil,  muttered,  "  I  can't," 
but  being  commanded  in  a  tone  of  authority  to 
write  "  Ed,"  he  finally  scrawled  "  cat,"  which  was 
one  of  the  half-dozen  other  words  which  he  could 
fashion.  He  could  not  adapt  his  behavior  even 
slightly,  but  was  able  to  respond  to  the  new  demand 
only  with  another  specific  habit,  because  he  was  not 

Stimulus  :    Write  your  name. 
[  Response: 


Stimulus  :    Now  write,  Ed. 
Response  (after  much  hesitation)  : 


FIG.  19.  —  Responses  of  a  feeble-minded  man  who  is  able  to  write 
"Edward,"  but  cannot  write  "Ed,"  which  he  has  never  been  specifically 
taught  to  write ;  illustrating  the  fact  that  specific  training  is  powerless 
to  raise  the  level  of  general  intelligence. 

intellectually  at  a  level  where  such  adaptations  are 
possible. 

Scores  of  anecdotes  are  current  among  students 
of  the  feeble-minded  which  illustrate  this  power  of 
specific  habits  in  their  lives.  A  feeble-minded  man 
was  sent  out  under  the  supervision  of  a  farmer  to 
drive  a  team  during  the  haying  season.  After  a  week 
the  farmer  reported  on  his  new  "help"  as  follows: 
"  He  helps  fine.  Drives  the  team  back  and  forth  all 
day  long.  There's  only  one  thing  against  him.  He 


200     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

will  go  to  bed  every  night  at  seven  o'clock,  no  matter 
what  happens."  In  the  institution  where  this  man 
had  lived  for  years,  the  retiring  hour  was  seven 
o'clock. 

The  Importance  of  Early  Diagnosis.  Since  train- 
ing, consisting  in  the  formation  of  proper  specific 
habits,  is  the  chief  instrument  for  the  improvement 
of  the  feeble-minded,  it  is  of  first  rate  importance 
to  make  a  diagnosis  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 
The  hopeful  laissez  faire  notion  that  the  child  "  will 
outgrow"  his  weaknesses  is  all  too  frequently  held, 
and  parents  are  encouraged  to  suppose  that  their 
offspring  will  become  normal  later  in  life,  most  prob- 
ably at  the  age  of  puberty.  The  primitive  myth  of 
a  new  birth  at  puberty  survives  among  us  in  this 
form.  All  that  is  wrong  with  children  is  supposed 
to  come  right  at  puberty.  Some  change  of  personal- 
ity is  hoped  for,  whereby  the  dull  will  become  bright, 
and  the  bad  will  become  good  during  adolescence, 
though  the  hope  is  rarely  sustained  in  the  actual  ex- 
periences of  life.  Over  and  over  we  hear  the  parents 
of  defective  children  and  others  interested  in  their 
welfare,  hoping  and  believing  that  all  is  destined  to 
be  corrected  later  on.  The  really  kind  thing  in  such 
cases  is  to  disillusion  them,  for  after  all  it  is  only  the 
truth  that  can  make  them  free,  in  this  matter  as  in 
others. 

Take,  as  an  example  of  wrong  management,  the 
case  of  a  feeble-minded  woman,  first  seen  by  the 


CAN  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY  BE   OVERCOME?      201 

present  writer  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  years.  Her 
history  from  the  beginning  is  that  of  a  defective. 
She  was  delayed  in  walking  and  talking,  was  never 
able  to  behave  as  other  children  behave,  and  could 
not  learn  at  school.  In  the  early  childhood  of  this  in- 
dividual her  parents  had  been  told  by  the  family 
physician  that  she  would  outgrow  her  peculiarities, 
that  she  was  a  healthy  child,  only  a  little  slow  in 
developing,  but  that  she  would  gradually  "  catch 
up,"  and  would  be  all  right  after  adolescence.  The 
parents  gladly  rested  there  so  far  as  professional  ad- 
vice was  concerned.  They  were  wealthy,  and  in- 
sisted on  sending  their  daughter  to  boarding  school 
in  the  approved  fashion.  When  she  failed  to  pro- 
gress there,  they  hired  special  teachers  of  French, 
music,  and  other  accomplishments  to  give  her  private 
lessons.  The  result  of  this  unwise  procedure  was 
that  the  girl  never  learned  anything  that  was  suit- 
able to  her  intellectual  status.  Most  of  the  informa- 
tion and  skills  that  were  presented  to  her  for  learn- 
ing were  so  far  beyond  her  capacity  that  she  might 
almost  as  well  have  remained  without  instruction. 
No  one  thought  of  such  a  thing  as  teaching  her  to 
mend  stockings,  to  do  plain  sewing,  to  wash  dishes 
nicely,  or  to  weave.  She  has  a  mental  level  of  eight 
years,  and  could  have  learned  all  these  things.  But 
French  syntax  has  utterly  escaped  her,  and  she  has 
not  mastered  even  the  simplest  melodies  on  the 
piano.  It  was  not  until  after  the  death  of  both  her 


202     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

parents  that  a  sensible  relative  took  her  in  charge, 
and  secured  instruction  for  her  that  was  suited  to  her 
intellectual  capacity,  as  scientifically  ascertained. 
Being  suitably  occupied,  she  soon  ceased  to  be  de- 
structive and  ill-tempered,  as  she  had  been. 

An  example  on  a  large  scale  of  the  evils  of  failure 
to  identify  the  mentally  defective  during  early  child- 
hood was  offered  some  years  ago  by  an  investigation 
carried  out  at  the  Municipal  Lodging  House  in  New 
York  City.  This  lodging  house  is  conducted  by  the 
Department  of  Public  Charities,  and  persons  who  find 
themselves  shelterless  and  without  means  are  at  lib- 
erty to  apply  there  for  supper  and  bed.  In  the  win- 
ter of  1914  two  thousand  successive  applicants  for 
shelter  were  examined  physically  and  mentally.  One 
in  eight  of  the  men  applying  was  found  to  be  so 
low  intellectually  as  to  be  technically  designated 
feeble-minded.  Of  these  practically  none  had  ever 
had  any  training  in  industrial  processes,  or  in  any 
kind  of  manual  work.  They  were  all  "  unskilled 
labor,"  having  spent,  on  an  average,  several  years 
in  the  public  schools  trying  to  learn  the  usual  school 
subjects  which  they  could  not  grasp.  Their  educa- 
tion had  thus  been  almost  wholly  neglected  by  the 
state,  which  at  the  same  time  had  spent  much  money 
offering  them  a  training  they  could  not  use. 

Ability  to  Learn  versus  Ability  to  Grow.  From  all 
of  the  foregoing  discussion  of  this  chapter  it  will  be 
seen  that  we  must  make  a  clear  distinction  between 


CAN  MENTAL   DEFICIENCY  BE   OVERCOME?      203 

ability  to  learn  specific  habits  appropriate  to  a  given 
intellectual  level,  and  ability  to  change  from  that 
intellectual  level  to  one  higher.  The  former  does  not 
imply  the  latter,  and  of  this  fact  those  directing  edu- 
cational policy  are  becoming  increasingly  cognizant, 
as  is  shown  by  the  widespread  movement  for  the 
establishment  of  special  classes  in  many  communi- 
ties. 

The  First  Recorded  Experiment  in  the  Education 
of  a  Mental  Defective.  Bonaterre,  Professor  of  Nat- 
ural History  in  the  Central  School  of  the  Department 
of  Aveyron,  France,  reported  in  the  year  1799  the 
case  of  a  boy  found  in  the  woods,  without  language 
and  behaving  like  a  savage.  Bonaterre  took  a  philo- 
sophical interest  in  the  lad,  thinking  that,  "  A  phe- 
nomenon like  this  would  furnish,  to  philosophy  and 
natural  history  important  notions  on  the  original 
constitution  of  man,  and  on  the  development  of  his 
primitive  faculties;  provided  that  the  state  of  imbe- 
cility we  have  noticed  in  this  child  does  not  offer  an 
obstacle  to  his  instruction." 

It  eventually  came  about  that  Itard,  a  French 
physician  whose  professional  interest  was  in  deaf 
mutes,  undertook  the  training  of  the  boy,  believing 
him  to  be  simply  "  savage,"  and  dissenting  from  the 
idea  that  he  was  an  "  idiot."  His  purpose  was  "  to 
solve  the  metaphysical  problem  of  determining  what 
might  be  the  degree  of  intelligence  and  the  nature  of 
the  ideas  in  a  lad,  who,  deprived  from  birth  of  all 


204    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

education,  should  have  lived  entirely  separated  from 
the  individuals  of  his  kind." 

For  more  than  a  year  Itard  proceeded  upon  the  as- 
sumption that  he  could  educate  the  "  savage,"  but 
later  he  became  convinced  that  his  diagnosis  was  in 
error,  for  he  was  unable  to  make  a  normal  human  be- 
ing out  of  his  pupil.  At  last  abandoning  hope  of 
developing  a  normal  intelligence  in  his  charge  by 
education,  he  exclaimed,  "  Unfortunate !  Since  my 
pains  are  lost,  and  my  efforts  fruitless,  take  yourself 
back  to  your  forests  and  primitive  tastes."  It 
seemed  to  him  at  that  moment,  apparently,  that  all 
his  labor  had  gone  for  naught.  However,  when  the 
"  savage "  was  brought  again  before  The  French 
Academy,  the  members  of  which  had  seen  the  lad  in 
his  former  state,  before  his  education  had  been  under- 
taken, there  was  astonishment  at  the  amount  of  im- 
provement evident.  Itard  had  brought  about  cer- 
tain noticeable  changes  in  the  habits  of  the  boy,  es- 
pecially in  regard  to  simple  matters  like  sleeping  and 
eating,  though  he  had  not  affected  his  general  in- 
telligence. 

Thus  the  first  recorded  experiment  in  the  education 
of  a  mental  defective  was  of  the  greatest  significance 
for  the  teachers  of  subsequent  times,  though  its 
importance  was  not  fully  realized  by  those  who 
carried  it  out.  It  ended  as  all  such  undertakings 
end,  —  by  inculcating  specific  desirable  habits  in 
the  child,  up  to  the  limits  of  his  native  capacity, 


CAN  MENTAL   DEFICIENCY  BE   OVERCOME?      205 

without  changing  that  native  capacity.  This  is  all 
that  education  can  do  for  any  child,  normal,  subnor- 
mal or  supernormal. 

Itard  never  carried  his  work  further,  but  his  pupil, 
Seguin,  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken,  based  his 
physiological  method  on  the  beginnings  that  Itard 
had  made. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Barr,  M.  W.,  The  How,  the  Why,  and  the  Wherefore  of  the 
Training  of  Feeble-Minded  Children.    Journal  of  Psycho-Asthen- 
ics.    Sept.,  1899. 

2.  Bonaterre,  Notice  Historique  sur  le  Sauvage  de  1'Avey- 
ron.    Paris.    1799. 

3.  Itard,   J.,   De   1'Education   d'un    Homme   Sauvage.    Paris. 
1801. 

4.  Williams,   G.,   The   Problem   of    Restoration;    A    Clinical 
Study.    University  of  Pennsylvania.    1918. 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE  CAUSES  AND  THE  PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL 
DEFICIENCY 

Prevention  of  Mental  Deficiency  Must  be  Based 
Upon  Knowledge  of  Its  Causes.  We  study  mentally 
defective  children  in  order  that  we  may  improve  as 
much  as  possible  those  whom  we  find  among  us,  but 
we  also  study  them  in  order  to  learn  how  we  may  re- 
duce their  number  in  future  generations.  There  has 
been  much  argument  as  to  whether  there  is  a  place 
for  mentally  defective  persons  in  a  democratic  so- 
ciety. It  has  been  contended  that  in  a  democracy 
it  is  highly  undesirable  that  there  should  be  a  con- 
siderable body  of  persons  who  are  incapable  by  orig- 
inal nature  of  ever  attaining  economic  or  intellec- 
tual independence,  even  though  they  be  well  trained 
in  the  performance  of  automatic,  routine  tasks. 
Others  argue  that  society  needs  the  services  of  the 
defectives.  There  are  and  probably  always  will  be 
multitudes  of  simple,  routine  tasks,  which  require 
for  their  performance  only  such  abilities  as  the 
feeble-minded  have.  To  those  who  take  this  view, 
it  seems  a  veritable  social  blessing  that  there  are  large 
numbers  of  persons  in  the  world  who  can  do  this  es- 
sential monotonous  work  and  find  satisfaction  in  it. 

206 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     207 

As  one  writer  says,  "  They  are  the  world's  hewers  of 
wood  and  drawers  of  water,"  who  are  fitted  by  original 
nature  for  this  routine  labor,  from  which  they  free 
the  strong  and  able  for  the  progress  of  the  majority 
of  mankind. 

Whichever  of  these  views  may  finally  prevail, 
certain  it  is  that  a  revision  of  the  prevalent  concept 
of  democracy  will  be  involved.  When  our  fore- 
fathers believed  that  men  were  created  free  and 
equal,  no  psychological  laboratories  had  been  es- 
tablished. During  the  past  century  we  have  learned 
that  all  men  are,  as  a  matter  of  biological  fact,  created 
unequal.  All  that  a  democratic  society  can  do  is  to 
equalize  opportunity;  it  cannot  equalize  men.  All 
that  a  democratic  school  can  do  is  to  equalize  oppor- 
tunity; it  cannot  equalize  the  children. 

The  most  serious  objection  to  the  view  of  those 
who  claim  for  the  subnormal  a  legitimate  place  in 
the  social  order  is  that  which  was  discussed  in  the 
chapter  on  instinct  and  emotion.  It  is  true  that  all 
defectives  above  a  mental  level  of  six  or  seven  years 
might  well  claim  inclusion  in  the  social  order  on 
the  basis  of  sufficient  usefulness.  The  great  diffi- 
culty is  that  they  are  "  irresponsible,"  incapable  of 
participating  in  the  moral  and  ethical  ideals  of  the 
community.  They  fall  prey  over  and  over  again  to 
impulse,  and  this  is  inevitable,  since  they  lack  that 
intelligence  which  in  the  average  person  rules  and 
guides  conduct. 


208    PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

Psychology  cannot,  however,  solve  all  of  these 
economic,  social,  and  political  problems,  which  are 
raised  by  the  mental  defectives  it  has  revealed.  A 
certain  writer  has  said  reproachfully,  "  They  (the 
psychologists)  are  responsible  for  the  feeble-minded 
becoming  a  problem."  Perhaps  psychologists  would 
hesitate  to  assume  this  responsibility.  Certainly  the 
solution  of  the  problem  rests  with  society  as  a  whole, 
especially  with  educators,  economists,  social  workers, 
jurists,  the  clergy,  and  organized  labor.  Psycholo- 
gists can  but  identify  the  deficient,  and  give  infor- 
mation as  to  the  causes  of  deficiency. 

Heredity  and  Variation.  The  great  majority  of 
the  subnormal  originate  no  doubt  in  the  same  way 
in  which  all  grades  of  intellect  originate,  the  normal 
and  the  supernormal  also,  —  namely,  according  to 
the  biological  law  that  like  produces  like,  but  not 
identical.  The  principle  that  like  produces  like  we 
call  heredity.  The  principle  that  offspring  is  never 
identical  with  parents  we  call  variation.  Subnormal 
parents  tend  to  produce  subnormal  offspring  just  as 
superior  parents  tend  to  produce  superior  offspring, 
and  mediocre  parents  tend  to  produce  mediocre  off- 
spring. The  question  is  not,  Why  should  it  be  thus? 
The  astonishing  thing  would  be  if  it  should  be  other- 
wise. We  have  been  long  accustomed  to  recognize 
this  principle  in  the  case  of  plants  and  animals,  and 
in  physical  characteristics  in  the  case  of  human  be- 
ings. Research  shows  that  the  same  principle  holds 
for  mental  traits  as  well. 


THE  PREVENTION   OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     209 

Although  offspring  resemble  their  own  parents 
and  each  other  much  more  closely  than  they  resemble 
parents  and  offspring  chosen  at  random,  brothers 
and  sisters  are  never  identical  with  their  parents  nor 
with  each  other.  Even  twins  who  very  closely  re- 
semble each  other  will  be  seen  to  be  somewhat  dis- 
similar if  scrutinized  and  measured,  both  physically 
and  mentally.  Why  organisms  should  vary  from 
type  instead  of  being  all  identical,  like  bolts  cast  in 
a  mold,  we  do  not  know.  Much  speculation  has  gone 
on  in  the  matter,  and  much  research  has  been  carried 
out,  yet  the  fundamental  causes  underlying  variation 
remain  largely  unknown.  We  know  neither  how  to 
control  nor  how  to  produce  variations. 

Samples  of  Studies  in  the  Heredity  of  Mental  De- 
fect. The  role  played  by  heredity  in  the  production 
of  feeble-mindedness  has  been  shown  repeatedly  by 
the  students  of  the  subject.  These  studies  have  now, 
indeed,  become  sufficiently  numerous  and  sufficiently 
well  known  to  have  made  a  considerable  impression 
upon  people  in  general,  who  have  undertaken  no 
systematic  study  of  the  subject.  Dugdale,  with  his 
report  on  the  Jukes  Family,  was  a  pioneer  in  this 
field.  Briefly,  Dugdale's  study  embraced  the  mem- 
bers of  a  degenerate  family,  whom  he  called  "  The 
Jukes/'  for  seven  generations.  His  description  is  as 
follows : 

"  Between  the  years  1720  and  1740  was  born  a  man  who  shall 
herein  be  called  Max.    He  was  a  descendant  of  the  early  Dutch 
p 


210     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

settlers,  and  lived  much  as  the  backwoodsmen  upon  our  frontiers 
do  now.  He  is  described  as  a  '  hunter  and  fisher,  a  hard  drinker, 
jolly  and  companionable,  averse  to  steady  toil,'  working  hard  by 
spurts,  and  idling  by  turns,  becoming  blind  in  his  old  age,  and 
entailing  his  blindness  upon  his  children  and  grandchildren.  He 
had  numerous  progeny,  some  of  them  almost  certainly  illegiti- 
mate. Two  of  his  sons  married  two  out  of  six  sisters  (called 
Jukes  in  these  pages)  who  were  born  between  the  years  1740  and 
1770,  but  whose  parentage  has  not  been  absolutely  ascertained. 
The  probability  is  they  were  not  full  sisters,  that  some,  if  not 
all  of  them  were  illegitimate.  The  family  name,  in  two  cases, 
is  obscure,  which  accords  with  the  supposition  that  at  least  two 
of  the  women  were  half  sisters  to  the  other  four,  the  legitimate 
daughters  bearing  the  family  name,  the  illegitimate  keeping  the 
mother's  name,  or  adopting  that  of  the  reputed  father.  Five 
of  these  women  in  the  first  generation  were  married;  the  sixth 
one  it  has  been  impossible  to  trace,  for  she  moved  out  of  the 
country.  Of  the  five  that  are  known,  three  have  had  illegitimate 
children  before  marriage.  One  who  is  called  in  these  pages  Ada 
Juke,  but  who  is  better  known  as  Margaret,  the  mother  of  crim- 
inals, had  one  illegitimate  son,  who  is  the  progenitor  of  the  dis- 
tinctively criminal  line.  Another  sister  had  two  illegitimate 
sons,  who  appear  to  have  had  no  children.  A  third  sister  had 
four,  three  boys  and  one  girl,  the  three  oldest  children  being  mulat- 
toes,  and  the  youngest  white.  The  fourth  sister  is  reputed  chaste, 
while  no  information  could  be  gathered  respecting  the  fifth  in 
this  respect,  but  she  was  the  mother  of  one  of  the  distinctively 
pauperized  lines,  and  married  one  of  the  sons  of  Max.  The  prog- 
eny of  these  five  has  been  traced  with  more  or  less  exactness 
through  five  generations,  thus  making  total  heredity  which  has 
been  enrolled  stretch  over  seven  generations,  if  we  count  Max 
as  the  first.  The  number  of  descendants  registered  includes  540 
individuals  who  are  related  by  blood  to  the  Jukes,  and  169  by 
marriage  or  cohabitation;  in  all,  709  persons  of  all  ages,  alive  and 
dead.  The  aggregate  of  this  lineage  reaches  probably  1200  per- 
sons, but  the  dispersions  that  have  occurred  at  different  times 
have  prevented  the  following  up  and  enumeration  of  many  of  the 
lateral  branches." 


THE   PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     211 

Dugdale  then  proceeds  to  show  that  crime,  pauper- 
ism, prostitution,  vagrancy,  illegitimacy,  and  all 
forms  of  social  disorder  arose  in  the  descendants  of 
these  Jukes.  Many  of  them  he  calls  "  idiotic  "  or 
"  weak-minded,"  but  the  date  of  publication  of  the 
study  tells  us  that  Dugdale  would  be  unlikely  to  have 
any  clear  ideas  as  to  the  real  relationship  between  the 
behavior  of  the  Jukes  and  their  probable  mental  status. 
Dugdale's  thesis  was  that  forms  of  behavior,  —  crim- 
inal tendencies  and  pauperism,  —  are  hereditary; 
that  undesirable  traits  are  "  bred  in  the  bone."  His 
book  was  published  in  1877.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Prison  Association 
of  New  York,  and  it  was  as  a  student  of  crime  that 
he  undertook  his  investigations.  The  influence  of 
his  work  has  been  very  far-reaching,  for  it  was,  as 
previously  said,  a  pioneer  in  its  field.  It  was  first 
published  as  a  part  of  the  thirtieth  annual  report  of 
the  Prison  Association  of  New  York.  We  are  told 
by  one  of  his  associates  that,  "  Like  all  men  who  think 
in  advance  of  their  fellows,  Mr.  Dugdale  suffered 
from  want  of  public  support  and  approbation." 
Within  recent  years  many  scientific  workers  have 
followed  the  path  he  pointed  out,  and  we  now  have 
studies  of  "The  Nams,"  "The  Pineys,"  "The 
Hill  Folk,"  "  The  Zero  Family,"  "  The  Family  of 
Sam  Sixty,"  and  "The  Kallikaks."  These  studies 
are  all  more  or  less  closely  modeled  on  "  The  Jukes." 
The  method  of  investigation  is  to  send  out  field 


212     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

workers,  who  trace  out  as  many  relatives  of  the  stock 
being  investigated  as  possible,  and  gather  information 
as  to  their  status  and  characteristics  by  questioning, 
interviewing  the  persons  themselves,  and  making 
inquiries  of  neighbors,  "oldest  living  inhabitants," 
and  the  like.  In  1915  an  investigator,  Dr.  Esta- 
brook,  brought  "The  Jukes"  up  to  date,  showing 
their  descendants  in  this  generation  to  have  the 
same  characteristics  as  those  described  in  their  an- 
cestors by  Dugdale  in  1877. 

"  For  the  past  130  years  they  (the  Jukes)  have  increased  from 
five  sisters  to  a  family  which  numbers  2094  people,  of  whom  1258 
were  living  in  1915.  One  half  of  the  Jukes  were  and  are  feeble- 
minded, mentally  incapable  of  responding  normally  to  the  expec- 
tations of  society,  brought  up  under  faulty  environmental  condi- 
tions, which  they  consider  normal,  satisfied  with  the  fulfillment  of 
natural  passions  and  desires,  and  with  no  ambitions  or  ideals  in 
life.  The  other  half,  perhaps  normal  mentally  and  emotionally, 
has  become  socially  adequate  or  inadequate,  depending  on  the 
chance  of  the  individual  reaching  or  failing  to  reach  an  environ- 
ment, which  would  mold  and  stimulate  his  inherited  social  traits." 

In  a  detailed  estimate  of  crime,  pauperism,  disease, 
and  debauchery,  Estabrook  estimates  that  the  de- 
scendants of  the  five  Juke  sisters  have  cost  the  tax- 
payers of  the  communities  where  they  have  resided, 
about  $2,516,685  in  money,  aside  from  the  trouble 
and  contamination  of  which  they  have  been  the 
source. 

One  of  the  most  widely  known  of  similar  studies 
is  that  of  the  Kallikaks,  reported  by  Dr.  Goddard. 
Martin  Kallikak,  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     213 

had  an  illegitimate  son  by  a  feeble-minded  girl,  whom 
he  met  in  a  tavern.  In  1912  there  were  480  trace- 
able descendants  of  this  union,  143  of  whom  were 
known  as  feeble-minded,  and  many  others  of  whom 
were  of  questionable  mentality.  The  anti-social  con- 
duct of  these  descendants  makes  a  long  history. 

After  his  return  from  the  war,  Martin  Kallikak 
married  a  girl  of  good  family.  Of  the  descendants 
of  this  union  496  individuals  were  traced.  No 
feeble-minded  person  was  found  among  them.  On 
the  contrary,  lawyers,  educators,  traders,  physicians, 
and  landowners  predominated  among  them,  and 
there  were  no  criminals. 

It  detracts  somewhat  from  the  value  of  these 
studies  that  they  rest  upon  the  opinions  of  neighbors 
and  field  workers  to  so  great  an  extent,  and  that 
mental  deficiency  has  to  be  inferred  from  undesirable 
behavior.  There  still  remains  to  be  made  a  study 
•  of  equal  scope,  in  which  all  relatives  shall  actually  be 
measured  intellectually,  by  the  psychological  method. 

Mental  Deficiency  is  Inherited.  There  is  now  no 
competent  student  of  the  heredity  and  transmission 
of  mental  traits  who  would  dissent  from  the  state- 
ment that  feeble-mindedness  is  hereditary.  Feeble- 
minded and  neuropathic  parents  produce  feeble- 
minded offspring.  Heredity  is  the  source  of  most  of 
the  mental  deficiency  with  which  the  social  order  is 
burdened.  This  conclusion  rests  not  only  upon 
studies  of  the  ancestry  of  subnormal  children,  but 


214     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

also  upon  studies  of  the  ancestry  of  average  and  of 
superior  persons,  both  children  and  adults.  In  a  re- 
moter sense  it  rests,  furthermore,  upon  studies  of  the 
heredity  of  physical  and  motor  characteristics  of  an- 
imals, and  even  upon  the  study  of  inheritance  in 
plants.  Throughout  organic  nature  we  find  experi- 
mentally the  operation  of  the  law  that  "  like  pro- 
duces like."  Subnormal  children  are  so,  because 
they  spring  from  the  inferior  germ-plasm  of  an  infe- 
rior ancestry.  Usually  the  parents  themselves  show 
the  inferior  mental  traits,  but  occasionally  the  infe- 
riority is  found  among  grandparents,  or  other  remote 
progenitors,  the  parents  themselves  being  of  normal 
ability. 

The  Nature  of  Heredity.  This  possibility  of  the 
inheritance  of  mental  deficiency  from  an  ancestor 
more  remote  than  the  parents  exists  because  of  the 
nature  of  inheritance.  Persons  who  have  made  no 
close  study  of  the  subject  usually  assume  that  chil- 
dren spring  from  their  parents'  bodies  and  minds. 
The  blood  has  been  thought  to  be  particularly  in- 
volved, as  is  shown  in  such  expressions  as  "  He  came 
of  bad  blood,"  "  She  came  of  such-and-such  blood," 
"  The  blood  of  so-and-so  flows  in  their  veins."  The 
science  of  biology  has  revealed,  however,  that  chil- 
dren spring  not  from  their  parents'  bodies  and  minds, 
nor  from  their  blood,  but  from  the  germ-plasm  of 
which  their  parents  are  merely  the  carriers.  This 
germ-plasm,  in  the  form  of  ova  and  spermatozoa, 


THE  PREVENTION   OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     215 


-  C5    C    O    03    • '  T3 

' 


216     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

is  continuous  from  generation  to  generation.  The 
body  of  the  adult  organism  does  not  manufacture 
germ  cells,  upon  which  it  impresses  various  influences 
contributed  by  other  cells,  such  as  the  nerve  cells, 
the  blood  cells,  the  cells  of  the  muscles,  and  so  forth. 
Conklin  has  stated  these  facts  with  admirable  clar- 
ity as  follows : 

"  Thus  the  problem  which  faces  the  student  of  heredity  has 
been  cut  in  two;  he  no  longer  inquires  how  the  body  produces 
the  germ  cells,  for  this  does  not  happen,  but  merely  how  the  latter 
produce  the  body  and  other  germ  cells.  The  germ  is  the  unde- 
veloped organism  which  forms  the  bond  between  successive  gen- 
erations; the  body  is  the  developed  organism  which  arises  from 
the  germ  under  the  influence  of  environmental  conditions.  The 
body  develops  and  dies  in  each  generation ;  the  germ-plasm  is  the 
continuous  stream  of  living  substance  which  connects  all  gen- 
erations. The  body  nourishes  and  protects  the  germ;  it  is  the 
carrier  of  the  germ-plasm,  the  mortal  trustee  of  an  immortal 
substance." 

Our  knowledge  of  these  principles  is  due  largely  to 
the  researches  of  the  biologist  Weismann.  Since 
children  are  not  in  a  fundamental  sense  the  product 
of  their  parents'  bodies  and  minds,  but  of  the  germ- 
plasm  which  is  continuous  from  generation  to  gener- 
ation, and  of  which  their  parents  are  merely  the 
temporary  carriers,  it  follows  that  children  may  re- 
semble remote  ancestors,  who  were  products  of  this 
same  continuous  germ-plasm.  Which  ancestors  an 
unborn  child  will  most  resemble  it  is  almost  wholly 
impossible  to  predict  in  the  present  state  of  knowl- 
edge. 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     217 

Parents  who  are  ill-informed  concerning  the  prin- 
ciples which  have  just  been  stated,  often  undertake 
to  determine  the  traits  of  unborn  children  by  exer- 
cising their  own  minds  and  bodies  in  various  ways. 
For  example,  the  writer  has  among  her  acquaintances 
an  intelligent,  but  uninformed  woman,  who  read 
political  dissertations  throughout  the  months  of 
pregnancy,  because  she  and  her  husband  desired  a 
son  who  would  have  a  political  career.  Another  be- 
lieves that  her  child  was  born  with  a  red  mark  on  his 
finger  because  she  cut  her  own  finger  previous  to  his 
birth.  Such  beliefs  have  no  foundation  in  fact. 
Pre-natal  influences  of  this  character  do  not  exist. 
The  only  possible  influence  which  the  parental  body, 
including  the  nervous  system,  can  exercise  upon  the 
germ-plasm,  or  upon  the  developing  embryo,  is  by 
interfering  with  its  nourishment,  or  by  poisoning  it 
with  chemical  toxins. 

There  are  many  other  complicated  questions  about 
the  nature  of  heredity,  which  at  present  occupy  much 
of  the  research  time  of  scientific  thinkers.  All  traits 
are  not  inherited  according  to  the  same  laws.  For 
instance,  certain  traits  in  human  beings  appear  to  be 
Mendelian,  so  called  because  they  are  inherited  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  which  were  discovered  by  Gregor 
Mendel  to  hold  in  the  case  of  peas.  Such  a  trait, 
apparently,  is  eye-color.  If  a  member  of  a  blue-eyed 
family  mates  with  a  member  of  a  brown-eyed  family, 
the  descendants  do  not  have  eyes  which  are  a  mixture 


218    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

of  blue  and  brown.  Their  eyes  are  either  brown 
or  blue,  according  to  the  combinations  of  eye-color 
found  in  subsequent  matings  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration, but  they  do  not  eventuate  in  a  new  blue- 
brown  blend  of  eye-color.  On  the  other  hand,  skin- 
color  seems  to  follow  a  different  law.  If  a  member  of  a 
black-skinned  race  mates  with  a  member  of  a  white- 
skinned  race,  the  result  is  the  brown  skin  of  the  mu- 
latto. Here  we  have  a  blend  of  qualities,  giving  us 
an  intermediate  condition.  Very  much  discussion 
has  gone  on  among  those  best  qualified  to  consider 
the  question,  as  to  whether  mental  deficiency  is  in- 
herited according  to  the  Mendelian  law,  according  to 
the  law  of  blending,  or  according  to  some  still  differ- 
ent law,  at  present  not  suspected.  No  agreement  has 
been  reached,  for  research  is  not  yet  sufficiently  ex- 
tensive. It  is  known  that  mental  deficiency  is  trans- 
missible through  the  germ-plasm,  but  according  to 
what  formula  we  do  not  know. 

Alleged  and  Possible  Causes  of  Deviation  in  the 
Direction  of  Subnormality.  It  has  been  stated  that 
children  are  never  identical  with  any  ancestor.  It  is 
one  of  the  marvelous  facts  about  every  human  being 
that  he  is  absolutely  unique  in  the  history  of  the 
race.  There  has  never  been  another  exactly  like  him, 
and  there  will  never  be  another  identical  with  him. 
It  was  also  stated  that  we  do  not  understand  the 
laws  governing  these  deviations,  and  cannot  predict 
in  what  direction  an  unborn  child  will  vary  from  the 


THE  PREVENTION  OP  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     219 

mental  and  physical  status  of  his  parents.  Various 
theories  have,  however,  been  advanced  in  the  at- 
tempt to  explain  mental  deviations  in  the  direction 
of  subnormality  as  the  result  of  influences  external 
to  the  germ-plasm,  acting  either  before  or  after  the 
conception  of  the  individual.  Advocates  of  these 
theories  believe  that  by  removing  the  supposed  ex- 
ternal causes  of  subnormality,  we  might  solve  the 
problem  of  mental  deficiency  without  becoming  in- 
volved in  the  troublesome  ethical  and  social  consid- 
erations which  arise  with  the  question  of  preventing 
procreation  by  the  unfit.  It  will  be  profitable  to  ex- 
amine these  theories  at  some  length. 

Alcoholism  and  Other  Conditions  in  the  Parents. 
It  is  possible  that  chemical  changes  in  the  bodies  of 
human  beings  may  affect  the  germ-plasm  of  which 
they  are  the  carriers.  Such  conditions  as  lead-pois- 
oning, alcoholism,  chronic  disease,  partial  starvation, 
might  conceivably  vitiate  a  potentially  normal  germ- 
plasm  in  such  a  way  that  mentally  inferior  children 
would  be  produced  in  consequence. 

That  such  conditions  actually,  do  have  such  con- 
sequences has  never  been  scientifically  demonstrated. 
It  is  impossible  to  experiment  with  human  beings  be- 
cause they  breed  so  slowly,  and  because  there  is  a 
strong  prejudice  against  biological  experimentation 
on  mankind.  Thus,  all  we  have  that  bears  upon  our 
question  in  the  case  of  human  beings  is  a  collection 
of  anecdotes,  some  of  which  show  that  a  chronically 


220     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

ill,  alcoholic,  badly-nourished,  or  over-fatigued  par- 
ent produced  a  feeble-minded  child ;  others  of  which 
show  that  another  parent,  affected  in  the  same  man- 
ner, produced  a  superior  child.  No  conclusions 
whatever  can  be  drawn  from  such  material. 

Similarly  valueless  are  the  statistics  which  show 
that  many  parents  of  feeble-minded  children  are  al- 
coholic. It  is  not  permissible  to  conclude  that  one 
phenomenon  is  the  cause  of  the  other,  simply  be- 
cause they  accompany  each  other.  Indeed,  it  is  most 
reasonable  to  infer  that  feeble-mindedness  causes 
alcoholism,  and  that  the  parents  of  feeble-minded 
children  are  alcoholic  because  they  are  mentally  de- 
ficient, and  unable  to  perceive  or  to  appreciate  the 
poverty,  misery,  and  general  ruin  which  drunkenness 
brings. 

Experiments  like  those  which  Dr.  Stockard  has 
performed  in  the  alcoholization  of  guinea-pigs  are 
very  suggestive  in  this  connection.  Here  adult 
guinea-pigs  of  both  sexes  were  subjected  to 
the  fumes  of  alcohol,  and  it  was  found  that  their 
offspring  were  greatjy  reduced  in  number,  with  many 
stillbirths,  and  were  weak  and  sickly.  Though  it 
is  a  long  leap  from  the  physical  life  of  guinea-pigs  to 
the  mental  life  of  man,  such  experiments  suggest 
that  we  may  sometime  find  chemical  properties  of 
the  parental  body  to  be  influences  making  for  devia- 
tion in  the  direction  of  subnormality. 

Sensory  Defects.     It  is  not  very  unusual  to  read 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     221 

that  mental  deficiency  has  been  overcome  in  some 
child  by  the  simple  expedient  of  fitting  him  with 
glasses.  What  is  meant  in  these  cases  is  that  the 
child  was  able  to  go  forward  in  school,  and  improved 
in  conduct  after  being  fitted  with  glasses.  School 
work  and  conduct  are  dependent  upon  eye-strain  as 
well  as  upon  innate  intelligence,  and  may  be  modified 
by  relieving  the  former,  without  reference  to  any 
change  whatever  in  the  latter.  An  inferior  intelli- 
gence cannot  be  improved  by  correcting  a  sensory  de- 
fect. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  question  as  to  how  much, 
if  at  all,  a  good  intelligence  may  be  hindered  from 
developing  by  the  lack  of  a  means  of  contact  with 
the  objective  world.  Psychologists  are  gradually 
accumulating  information  about  the  intelligence  of 
the  blind  and  the  deaf  and  dumb,  but  no  systematic 
body  of  knowledge  is  as  yet  available.  In  general 
it  appears  in  mental  tests  that  children  who  suffer 
from  severe  sensory  defects,  total  blindness  or  total 
deafness,  are  somewhat  behind  seeing  and  hearing 
children  in  their  mental  development;  that  total 
deprivation  of  a  special  sense  is  an  influence  making 
for  subnormality  in  intelligence.  Slight  sensory  de- 
fects probably  have  no  effect,  as  they  are  found 
among  children  of  all  degrees  of  intelligence,  among 
the  very  superior  as  well  as  among  the  very  deficient. 

Dental  Caries,  and  Defects  of  the  Teeth.  Bad 
teeth  have  been  alleged  as  a  possible  cause  of  mental 


222    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

subnormality.  As  in  the  case  of  eye  defects,  it  has 
been  said  that  intellectual  deficiency  may  be  cor- 
rected by  proper  dental  treatment,  the  statement 
resting  on  the  fact  that  school  work  and  conduct 
have  been  improved  thereby.  Since  school  work 
and  conduct  may  be  seriously  interfered  with  by 
toothache,  it  follows  that  both  may  improve  greatly 
after  the  teeth  have  been  repaired,  without  refer- 
ence to  any  modification  of  the  intelligence. 

In  order  to  determine  the  effects  of  any  physical 
condition  on  mental  conditions,  it  is  necessary  to 
carry  out  systematic  and  carefully  controlled  experi- 
ments on  children  whose  intelligence  has  been  ac- 
curately measured,  including  always  the  precaution 
of  the  "  control  group,"  (as  seen  in  the  case  of 
Woodrow's  experiments  on  learning).  The  only 
actual  experiments  which  have  been  made  in  the 
attempt  to  determine  the  influence  of  dental  condi- 
tions upon  mental  subnormality  have,  unfortunately, 
neglected  the  check  of  the  "  control  group,"  so  that 
the  results  cannot  be  interpreted.  These  were  experi- 
ments performed  on  twenty-seven  children,  who  were 
suffering  from  disorders  of  the  teeth  and  gums.  Be- 
fore treatment  they  were  given  five  psychological 
tests.  During  the  course  of  the  treatment  and  after 
its  termination,  the  same  five  tests  were  given  four 
times,  in  only  slightly  modified  form.  The  last  trial 
showed  very  great  improvement  over  the  first  trials, 
but  we  are  by  no  means  justified  in  concluding  that 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     223 

the  correction  of  dental  disorders  had  an  influence  in 
bringing  about  this  improvement.  We  know  from 
the  psychology  of  practice  and  learning  that  these 
children  would  have  done  much  better  on  the  last 
trial  than  on  the  first  trial  even  if  their  teeth  had 
never  been  treated.  All  of  the  improvement  may 
well  be  due  to  practice. 

This  investigation  should  be  repeated,  using  at  the 
same  time  a  "  control  group  "  of  children  of  equal 
ability,  suffering  to  an  equal  extent  from  the  same 
kind  of  dental  disorders,  who  should  take  the  tests 
exactly  as  the  children  who  undergo  treatment  do, 
but  who  should  not  themselves  be  treated  during  the 
course  of  the  experiment.  If  the  treated  group 
showed  a  reliably  greater  improvement  than  the 
"  control  group,"  we  should  be  justified  in  concluding 
that  the  difference  must  be  ascribed  to  the  correction 
of  dental  conditions. 

It  is  therefore  an  entirely  open  question  whether 
carious  teeth  may  exert  an  influence  making  for  sub- 
normality  in  intelligence,  as  children  develop.  That 
such  is  the  case  seems  scarcely  probable  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  a  large  percentage  of  children  of  very 
superior  intelligence  are  found  to  be  affected  in  this 
way. 

Tonsils  and  Adenoids.  Some  years  ago  the  re- 
moval of  tonsils  and  adenoids  was  advocated  by  cer- 
tain enthusiastic  persons  as  a  remedy  for  mental  de- 
ficiency. Many  parents  of  feeble-minded  children 


224     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

were  led  to  believe  that  the  removal  of  these  portions 
of  the  anatomy  would  result  in  normal  intellectual 
development,  and  the  present  writer  has  repeatedly 
been  a  witness  to  the  bitter  disappointment  and  re- 
sentment of  parents,  who  for  years  had  cherished 
the  false  belief  that  a  deficient  child  would  be 
"  cured  "  by  this  operation. 

The  conduct  and  school  work  of  a  child  are  fre- 
quently improved  by  the  excision  of  tonsils  and  ade- 
noids, for  a  child  will  usually  apply  himself  more  ef- 
fectually to  tasks  demanding  effort  if  he  is  physically 
comfortable.  But  no  scientific  evidence  exists  to 
show  that  this  operation  ever  has  the  slightest  effect 
on  the  intelligence  quotient.  Any  statement  of 
value  would  necessarily  be  based  on  experiments  con- 
ducted by  the  method  suggested  in  the  case  of  carious 
teeth,  and  such  experiments  have  never  been  per- 
formed. The  fact  that  adenoids  and  abnormal  ton- 
sils are  found  with  as  great  frequency  among  average 
and  superior  children  as  among  subnormal  children 
gives  a  priori  reason  for  supposing  that  experiment 
would  reveal  no  connection  between  intelligence  and 
tonsils  and  adenoids,  although  between  school  prog- 
ress and  the  latter  a  connection  might  well  exist. 

Malnutrition.  Malnutrition  is  frequently  alleged 
as  a  cause  of  mental  backwardness,  and  indeed  mal- 
nutrition and  ansemia  are  undoubtedly  capable  of 
producing  a  listlessness  and  inattention  which  con- 
duce to  poor  school  work,  and  hence  to  retardation 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     225 

in  school  status.  However,  here,  as  in  the  case  of 
other  physical  defects,  we  have  no  scientific  experi- 
ments to  guide  our  conclusions.  We  do  not  know 
as  a  scientific  fact  that  malnutrition  can  affect  the 
intelligence  quotient  of  a  child  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree. 

The  proponents  of  the  theory  that  such  an  effect 
will  be  demonstrated,  point  out  that  all  tissues  of  the 
body  are  susceptible  to  starvation,  and  it  is  only  rea- 
sonable to  suppose  that  the  nervous  system,  being  a 
tissue  of  the  body,  is  no  exception  to  the  rule.  Noth- 
ing is  proved,  however,  by  this  kind  of  thinking,  for 
it  may  well  be  that  the  tissues  of  the  body  nour- 
ish themselves  selectively  upon  the  available  food; 
so  that  the  nervous  system  might  grow  and  function 
at  the  expense  of  other  tissues. 

Recently  Dr.  Blanton  has  made  an  attempt  to  ap- 
proach this  question  scientifically.  Among  school 
children  in  Trier,  Germany,  who  had  suffered  severely 
from  malnutrition  during  the  war,  a  decided  increase 
in  scholastic  retardation  was  found.  Upon  inquiry 
a  large  number  of  children  were  considered  by  rek- 
tors  or  teachers  as  probably  subnormal  intellectually. 
The  direct  examination  of  intelligence  by  psycholog- 
ical methods  is  given  for  thirty  children,  who  had 
suffered  severely  from  lack  of  food,  but  from  whose 
personal  and  family  history  a  normal  intelligence 
would  be  expected.  It  is  not  possible  to  base  re- 
liable statements  upon  thirty  cases,  in  attempting  to 
Q 


compare  the  distribution  of  these  children  with  the 
normal  curve.  Nevertheless,  it  is  of  interest  to  know 
that  so  far  as  the  figures  go,  the  result  showed  no  de- 
viation from  normal  expectation.  Of  the  thirty  chil- 
dren selected  as  described,  twenty-three  fell  within 
the  norm;  while  three  showed  superior  intelligence, 
and  four  showed  intelligence  below  the  average,  fall- 
ing between  eighty  IQ  and  ninety  IQ.  This  is  what 
we  should  expect  among  well-nourished  children  so 
selected,  anywhere. 

The  investigator  concludes  that  malnutrition  ex- 
tending over  a  period  of  two  years  causes  decrease  in 
nervous  and  physical  energy,  and  changes  in  the  atti- 
tude of  children  toward  school  work,  but  that  chil- 
dren of  superior  or  average  intelligence  can  withstand 
malnutrition  of  even  a  serious  degree,  extending  over 
more  than  two  years,  without  any  impairment  of  the 
intelligence.  He  adds  that  "  children  of  poor  or  in- 
ferior intelligence  suffer  a  general  and  sometimes  per- 
manent lowering  of  the  whole  intelligence  level,  from 
even  a  moderate  degree  of  malnutrition."  This  lat- 
ter statement  does  not,  however,  rest  upon  any  ac- 
ceptable objective  evidence  presented.  The  results 
from  the  thirty  children  objectively  measured  do  not 
furnish  a  basis  for  the  inference,  since  it  would  be 
quite  as  logical  to  attribute  the  superior  intelligence 
unexpectedly  found  among  them  to  malnutrition,  as 
to  attribute  the  inferior  intelligence  unexpectedly 
found  to  this  cause. 


THE  PREVENTION    OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY      227 

Of  course  a  great  many  of  the  subnormal  children 
who  are  examined  in  schools  and  on  clinics  are  un- 
der-nourished, but  it  would  be  very  unscientific  to 
conclude  from  this  fact  that  malnutrition  caused  the 
mental  dullness.  The  most  reasonable  interpreta- 
tion of  such  correlation  as  may  exist  between  malnu- 
trition and  mental  deficiency  is  that  mentally  infe- 
rior parents  produce  mentally  inferior  children,  and 
at  the  same  time  are  unable,  on  account  of  their  in- 
efficiency, to  provide  adequate  food  for  them.  We 
should  expect,  of  course,  that  because  of  the  laws  of 
heredity  stupid  children  will  be  ill-nourished  more 
often  than  intelligent  children.  The  same  remarks 
would  apply  to  the  supposition  that  mental  defi- 
ciency may  be  caused  by  poor  home  conditions. 

Institutional  Life.  Another  cause  of  low  intelli- 
gence that  is  alleged  repeatedly  in  diagnoses  is  in- 
stitutional life.  A  child  is  said  to  be  "  retarded,  due 
to  institutional  life."  A  prospective  adoptive  par- 
ent, seeking  professional  advice,  is  told  that  he  will 
be  doing  well  to  take  the  child,  for  though  he  is  one 
or  two  or  three  years  below  the  norm  in  intelligence, 
this  is  "  due  to  institutional  life,"  and  he  will  be- 
come "  a  bright  child  "  once  he  is  out  of  the  insti- 
tution. 

Here  obviously  we  have  to  deal  with  the  familiar 
fallacy.  We  should  expect  that  "  institutional  life  " 
and  mental  subnormality  will  frequently  occur  to- 
gether, not  because  orphanages  produce  deficiency  in 


228    PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

children,  but  because  of  the  laws  of  heredity.  Dull 
parents  are  unable  to  provide  properly  for  their 
children,  and  they  also  feel  less  responsibility  for 
their  offspring  than  do  intelligent  parents.  Hence 
their  dull  offspring  are  many  times  more  likely  to 
become  the  wards  of  charitable  institutions  than  are 
the  children  of  competent,  intelligent  parents. 

By  these  remarks  we  do  not,  of  course,  understand 
that  there  are  no  normal  and  superior  children  in  or- 
phanages. There  are  many,  for  accident  sometimes 
carries  off  very  young  parents,  who  have  not  yet  had 
a  chance  to  establish  economic  security,  and  whose 
relatives  are  in  other  lands.  Sometimes  illegitimate 
children  are  left  at  the  doors  of  foundling  asylums, 
whose  parents  are  of  good  intelligence,  but  wish  to 
avoid  social  disapprobation.  A  great  disaster  like 
a  war  or  an  epidemic  operates  to  fill  orphanages  with 
children  of  good  quality.  Sometimes  parents  of  good 
intelligence  are  physically  weak,  and  for  this  reason 
are  compelled  to  give  their  children  over  as  public 
charges.  Thus  we  do  find  children  of  all  degrees  of 
intelligence  in  institutions.  The  median  for  chil- 
dren in  institutions  is,  however,  distinctly  below  the 
median  for  children  chosen  at  random,  and  the 
chances  of  finding  subnormal  children  as  dependent 
are  very  great. 

In  order  to  determine  scientifically  the  effects  of 
institutional  life  as  contrasted  with  good  home  con- 
ditions upon  the  intelligence  quotients  of  children, 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     229 

it  would  be  necessary  to  take  a  large  number  of  young 
children  with  high  intelligence  quotients,  and  subject 
them  to  institutional  life  for  a  term  of  years,  to  see 
whether  they  became  reduced  below  their  original 
status.  Similarly  it  would  be  necessary  to  take  a 
large  number  of  young  subnormal  children  from  in- 
stitutions, and  subject  them  to  the  influences  of  good 
home  conditions  for  a  term  of  years,  in  order  to  see 
whether  they  would  thus  be  raised  toward  normality. 
No  one  has  ever  performed  this  crucial  experiment, 
although  the  latter  half  of  it  might  easily  be  under- 
taken by  a  psychologist  connected  with  a  bureau  of 
child- welfare. 

Hookworm  and  Malaria.  In  the  case  of  hook- 
worm and  malaria  among  the  children  of  the  South 
in  the  United  States,  psychologists  have  carried  out 
some  experimental  investigation.  In  1916  the  In- 
ternational Health  Commission  published  the  report 
of  psychological  investigations  by  Dr.  E.  K.  Strong, 
Jr.,  in  which  all  the  essentials  of  scientific  method 
were  carefully  observed.  Mental  tests  were  given 
to  four  groups  of  school  children,  (A)  uninfected  chil- 
dren, (B)  children  infected  and  not  treated,  (C)  chil- 
dren treated  and  completely  cured,  and  (Z))  children 
treated  but  not  completely  cured. 

These  children  were  all  tested  psychologically  be- 
fore any  treatment  whatever  was  instituted,  and  were 
re-tested  at  the  expiration  of  .3  of  a  year.  The  re- 
sults of  the  study  are  difficult  to  interpret,  as 


230     PSYCHOLOGY    OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 


contradictory  tendencies  are  shown  in  the  various 
tests  employed.  In  opposites,  logical  memory,  mem- 
ory span,  and  handwriting  the  infected,  but  not 
treated,  (group  5),  were  decidedly  inferior  to  the 
treated  and  cured  groups  in  the  amount  of  improve- 
ment shown  in  .3  of  a  year.  In  calculation,  form- 
board  ability,  and  general  intelligence  the  infected, 
but  not  treated,  (group  5),  surpassed  the  treated 
and  cured  groups  in  amount  of  improvement  during 
the  interval.  When  the  percentages  of  gain  in  all 
the  tests  given  are  tabulated,  the  result  is  as  shown 
in  the  following  table: 

SHOWING   THE   GAIN  IN  EACH  OF  SEVEN  MENTAL  TESTS  FOB 

THE  FOUR  GROUPS  OF  CHILDREN 

(Strong) 


A'B 

C'8 

D'a 

B's 

Opposites    

24.2% 

3.0% 

13.1% 

29% 

Calculation 

27.0 

20.5 

12.5 

25.5 

Logical  Memory 

54.5 

36.6 

18.1 

14.4 

Memory  Span 

5.2 

3.7 

2.7 

-6.5 

Handwriting    . 

1.2 

1.6 

-10.9 

-9.8 

Form-Board     . 

9.3 

5.8 

5.2 

9.0 

Binet-Simon    . 

2.0 

2.3 

5.4 

5.6 

17.6 

10.5 

6.6 

5.9 

Ratios    

100 

60 

38 

34 

When  the  results  from  all  the  tests  are  combined 
as  above,  the  average  shows  that  the  infected  and 
not  treated  group  (group  B)  is  decidedly  behind  the 
treated  and  cured  group  (group  C)  in  amount  of  im- 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY      231 


provement  over  a  period  of  .3  of  a  year.  It  is  ques- 
tionable, however,  whether  it  is  legitimate  to  combine 
the  results  from  the  Binet-Simon  Measuring  Scale 
for  Intelligence  in  this  manner  with  the  other  single 
tests,  because  it  is  not  a  test,  but  a  combination  of 
many  tests,  and  the  results  from  it  are  much  more 
reliable  for  this  reason  than  are  the  results  of  any 
single  test. 

On  the  Binet-Simon  Measuring  Scale  the  results 
were  as  follows : 

THE  AVERAGE  AGE,  BOTH  ACTUAL  AND  MENTAL,  OP  CHILDREN 

TREATED  AND  NOT  TREATED  FOR  HOOKWORM,  TOGETHER  WITH 

THE   GAIN  MADE   DURING   A  PERIOD  OP   .3  OP  A  YEAR 

(Strong) 


GROUPS 

A's 

C's 

D's 

B's 

Time  of  Exam. 

before 

after 

b. 

a. 

b. 

a. 

b. 

a. 

No.  of  Cases     .     . 

18 

18 

26 

26 

17 

17 

9 

9 

Av.  Act.  Age    .     . 

11.1 

11.4 

10.9 

11.2 

11.1 

11.4 

10.6 

10.9 

Av.  Ment.  Age 

10.1 

10.2 

9.3 

9.6 

8.9 

9.4 

9.4 

10.0 

Gain  Act.  Age  .     . 

0.3 

0.3 

0.3 

l_  _ 

0.3 

Gain  Ment.  Age    . 

0.1 

0.3 

0.5 

.... 

0.6 

The  figures  show  that  the  infected  children  who 
were  not  treated  made  a  greater  gain  in  the  develop- 
ment of  general  intelligence  than  did  those  who  were 
treated  and  cured. 

It  is  true  that  this  experiment  extended  over  a 
very  short  time,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  lapse  of 
a  year  or  of  two  years  might  show  a  more  impressive 


232    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

gain  in  those  treated  and  cured.  Dr.  T.  L.  Kelley 
made  a  similar  experiment  with  school  children  in 
the  State  of  Texas,  using  educational  tests  instead 
of  mental  tests.  His  experiment  extended  over  six 
months,  and  he  investigated  the  effects  of  malaria  as 
well  as  the  effects  of  hookworm.  Unfortunately  no 
group  corresponding  to  group  B  in  Dr.  Strong's  ex- 
periment was  used  by  Dr.  Kelley,  so  that  it  cannot 
be  stated  in  connection  with  his  work  what  amount 
of  gain  would  have  been  made  in  the  educational  tests 
by  a  group  of  children  infected  with  malaria  or  with 
hookworm,  but  not  treated.  It  can  only  be  stated 
that  children  cured  of  disease  gained  in  these  tests 
slightly  more  than  did  children  tested  in  the  same 
manner  and  on  the  same  occasions,  who  had  not  been 
infected  at  all  with  the  diseases  under  investigation. 
From  this  it  is  suggested  that  hookworm  and  malaria 
are  influences  making  for  retardation  in  school  sub- 
jects, since  when  they  are  removed  there  is  a  greater 
gain  than  with  healthy  children.  The  influence 
shown  is  not  great,  however,  and  not  entirely  consist- 
ent, as  in  the  Courtis  Tests  in  the  fundamentals  of 
arithmetic  the  cured-of-disease  group  showed  less  im- 
provement than  did  children  who  had  never  had  the 
diseases,  and  from  whom  no  such  handicap  was  there- 
fore removed. 

The  Experimental  Literature  on  the  Relation  be- 
tween Physical  and  Mental  Is  Very  Meager.  The 
investigations  of  hookworm  and  malaria  outlined 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     233 

above,  have  been  considered  at  length  because  they 
are  samples  of  the  kind  of  laborious  work  that  must 
be  done  before  any  body  of  truth  can  become  avail- 
able on  the  subject  of  the  influence  of  physical  con- 
ditions upon  the  development  of  intelligence.  In  no 
branch  of  child  study  is  research  more  needed  and  at 
the  same  time  more  conspicuously  lacking.  General 
discussion,  both  printed  and  oral,  abounds,  but  gen- 
eral discussion  is  of  no  value  except  in  so  far  as  it 
may  be  the  preliminary  to  objective  and  controlled 
experimentation. 

The  subjective  opinion  of  a  physician  who  treats 
a  physical  disorder,  as  to  the  amount  of  mental  de- 
velopment taking  place  in  consequence,  is  not  at  all 
reliable.  He  is  limited  by  the  same  laws  which  gov- 
ern all  human  psychology.  He  will  be  almost  cer- 
tain to  see  improvement,  where  he  is  persuaded 
that  it  should  and  does  exist.  Nothing  is  reliable 
except  objective  measurements,  made  by  trained 
persons,  and  these  have  been  recorded  in  only  a  few 
instances. 

The  lack  of  data  does  not,  of  course,  prevent  a 
great  number  of  positive  statements  from  being 
made.  Every  specialist  tends  to  believe  that  the 
remedy  for  mental  subnormality  lies  in  curing  the 
physical  or  social  conditions  which  lie  within  his  own 
field.  What  we  must  demand  from  all  who  speak  is 
not  their  opinion,  however,  but  objective  measure- 
ments made  by  competent  experts.  It  is  necessary 


234    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

for  us  all  to  bear  continually  in  mind  the  nature  of 
evidence,  so  that  we  may  not  be  misled  by  anecdotes. 
Children  of  Very  Superior  Intelligence  Also  Have 
Physical  Defects.  One  fact  which  renders  doubtful 
the  hope  that  we  shall  be  able  to  overcome  mental 
subnormality  to  any  very  marked  extent  by  the  cor- 
rection of  physical  defects  is  that  we  find  these  phys- 
ical defects  among  children  of  the  very  highest  in- 
telligence, as  well  as  among  those  who  are  the  most 
inferior.  Among  twenty-five  public  school  pupils 
chosen  by  mental  tests  to  form  a  special  class  for 
gifted  children,  the  following  physical  defects  were 
subsequently  found: 

Physically  perfect 6 

Carious  teeth 9 

Enlarged  tonsils 5 

Defective  nasal  breathing  .    .    .    .  2 

Orthopedic  defects 2 

Malnutrition 9 

Overweight 2 

The  intelligence  quotients  and  the  number  of 
grades  covered  in  one  term  by  the  children  having 
these  physical  defects  appear  in  the  table  on  the  fol- 
lowing page.  The  median  IQ  is  seen  to  be  137.  The 
median  grade  progress  is  2§  grades  for  the  term. 

One  would  be  laughed  out  of  court  who  would 
undertake  to  prove  the  very  superior  intelligence  of 
these  children  to  be  due  to  their  carious  teeth, 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     235 


enlarged  tonsils,  malnutrition,  and  so  forth.  And  yet 
the  same  array  of  data  in  the  case  of  the  subnormal 
has  sometimes  led  to  an  inference  as  inadmissible. 
The  fact  is  that  we  find  physical  defects  scattered 
throughout  the  whole  range  of  intelligence,  and  the 
relation  between  the  two  is  almost  wholly  unknown, 
except  in  the  case  of  neurological  disorders. 

AGE,  IQ's,  AND  GRADE  PROGRESS  OP  CHILDREN  HAVING  THE 
PHYSICAL  DEFECTS  LISTED  ABOVE 

(Specht) 


B. 

AGE 

IQ 

G.P. 

G. 

AGE 

IQ 

G.P. 

H.S. 

II8 

150 

2 

S.F. 

10* 

161 

3 

W.H. 

95 

149 

2 

H.W. 

102 

154 

3 

A.B. 

104 

147 

2 

s.s. 

11s 

144 

2 

R.P. 

97 

146 

3 

R.H. 

II6 

141 

2 

I.K. 

II1 

146 

3 

H.G. 

102 

130 

2 

S.R. 

102 

143 

2 

R.B. 

10* 

137 

3 

P.P. 

10« 

138 

2 

E.P. 

108 

137 

3 

P.M. 

98 

137 

3 

A.S. 

10 

136 

3 

E.R. 

10 

133 

4 

D.M. 

10B 

132 

1 

V.S. 

910 

131 

2 

R.S. 

10? 

133 

3 

H.L. 

101 

127 

2 

S.B. 

102 

122 

2 

H.R. 

II2 

123 

2 

N.W. 

105 

122 

2 

H.G. 

101" 

117 

2 

Physical  Defects  Should  Be  Corrected  for  the  Sake 
of  General  Health,  It  goes  without  saying  that  a 
child's  teeth  should  be  filled  if  any  are  decayed ;  that 
his  sensory  defects  should  be  corrected,  if  they  are  cor- 
rigible ;  that  any  obstruction  in  the  respiratory  tract 
should  be  removed;  that  any  and  all  diseases  and 


236    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

disorders  should  be  detected  and  treated.  Every 
child  should  be  kept  at  what  is  for  him  the  maximum 
of  physical  health.  Physical  strength  is  one  of  the 
most  important  determinants  of  achievement,  and 
should  be  conserved  on  its  own  merits.  But  we  must 
guard  against  the  supposition  that  by  conserving 
physical  health,  and  correcting  anatomical  defects, 
we  shall  be  able  to  solve  the  problem  of  mental  de- 
ficiency. 

The  Prevention  of  Mental  Deficiency.  The 
known  fact  that  stands  out  most  clearly  in  a  consid- 
eration of  the  causes  of  mental  deficiency  is  that  it 
is  hereditary.  Feeble-mindedness  is  transmissible 
through  the  germ-plasm,  and  a  large  majority  of  the 
defective,  variously  estimated  at  from  eighty-five  to 
ninety-five  percent,  show  "  a  bad  family  history," 
either  maternal  or  paternal,  or  both.  Since  this  is 
so,  it  follows  that  the  prevention  of  mental  deficiency 
in  the  population  can  be  accomplished  only  by  pre- 
venting defective  persons  from  procreating. 

Since  this  realization  has  dawned  upon  the  in- 
formed public  many  so-named  eugenic  movements 
have  been  organized.  These  organizations  have  for 
their  object  the  formulation  of  plans  whereby  the 
propagation  of  the  inferior  may  be  prevented.  Now, 
it  is  apparent  that  this  aim  will  be  very  difficult  of 
attainment.  Such  plans  run  counter  to  one  of  the 
strongest  of  human  instincts,  which,  as  has  been  said, 
is  well  developed  in  the  feeble-minded ;  namely,  the 


THE  PREVENTION   OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY      237 

sexual  instinct.  They  also  run  counter  to  the  firmly 
established  principle  that  "  all  men  are  created 
equal;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  creator  with 
certain  inalienable  rights."  In  a  democracy  no  one 
feels  fully  qualified  to  "  pass  upon  "  the  biological 
rights  of  another,  even  though  that  other  may  pilfer 
his  goods,  contaminate  his  children,  and  be  supported 
at  his  expense  in  prison,  almshouse,  or  refuge. 

Two  general  schemes  have  been  proposed  for  re- 
ducing the  number  of  defectives  born  into  the  world : 
(1)  the  segregation  of  all  mentally  deficient  adults 
during  the  reproductive  period;  (2)  the  artificial 
sterilization  of  mental  defectives  by  surgical  means. 
That  there  are  serious  practical  objections  to  both 
plans  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  neither  of  them  is 
in  operation,  or  seems  likely  to  be  put  into  operation 
soon.  The  objection  to  the  first  plan  is  that  of  the 
great  expense  involved.  A  conservative  estimate 
of  the  number  of  defectives  at  present  at  liberty,  as 
compared  with  the  facilities  now  provided  for  their 
detention,  indicates  that  expenditures  on  an  enor- 
mous scale  would  be  necessitated  in  order  to  segre- 
gate all  of  a  state's  defectives  for  the  reproductive 
period  of  their  lives. 

The  objections  to  the  second  plan,  that  of  sterili- 
zation, are  chiefly  objections  of  sentiment.  Here  as 
elsewhere,  there  is  a  wide  gap  between  the  theory  of 
what  should  be  done,  and  actual  realization  in  con- 
duct. In  states  where  sterilization  is  legalized  it  is 


238    PSYCHOLOGY   OP  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

carried  out  with  relative  infrequency.  The  law  will 
have  to  make  sterilization  mandatory,  not  permissive 
only,  before  such  measures  will  become  effectual ;  and 
the  consensus  of  opinion  seems  to  be  that  knowledge 
should  be  much  more  extensive  than  it  is  at  present, 
in  order  to  justify  such  mandatory  legislation. 

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2.  Blanton,  S.,  Mental  and  Nervous  Changes  in  the  Children 
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Feeble-Mindedness.    School  and  Society,  Feb.  20,  1915. 

4.  Conklin,   E.   G.,   Heredity   and   Environment.    Princeton 
University  Press.    1917. 

5.  Courtis,   S.    A.,    Measurement    of   the   Relation    Between 
Physical  and  Mental  Growth.    American  Physical  Education  Re- 
view.   Nov.,  1917. 

6.  Dawson,  W.  J.  G.,  Results  Obtained  from  the  Removal  of 
Tonsils  and  Adenoids  in  the  Feeble-Minded.    Journal  of  Psycho- 
Asthenics.    March  and  June,  1918. 

7.  Davenport,    C.    B.,    Heredity    in    Relation    to    Eugenics. 
Henry  Holt  and  Company,  New  York.    1911. 

8.  Dugdale.  R.  L.,  The  Jukes.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons.    New 
York.    1877. 

9.  Estabrook,  A.  H.,  The  Jukes  in  1915.    Carnegie  Institu- 
tion of  Washington.    Washington.    1916. 

10.  Estabrook,  A.  H.,  and  Davenport,  C.  B.,  The  Nam  Family. 
Eugenics  Record  Office.    Cold  Spring  Harbor,  New  York.    1912. 

11.  Foster,  J.  C.,  A  Case  of  Intellectual  Development  Despite 
Enforced  Seclusion.    Journal  of  Applied  Psychology.    June,  1919. 

12.  Goddard,  H.  H.,  Feeble-Mindedness:  Its  Causes  and  Con- 
sequences.   The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York.    1914. 

13.  Goddard,  H.   H.,  The   Vineland  Experience  with   Pineal 
Gland  Extract.    Journal  of  the   American   Medical  Association. 
May  5,  1917. 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  MENTAL  DEFICIENCY     239 

14.  Haines,  T.  H.,  Wassermann  Reactions  of  Juvenile  Delin- 
quents.   Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association.    Jan.  8, 
1916. 

15.  Kelley,  T.  L.,  The  Effect  of  Hookworm  and  Malaria  upon 
Physical  and  Mental  Development  of  School  Children.    Element- 
ary School  Journal.    Sept.,  1917. 

16.  Keyes,  H.  B..  Effect  of  Outdoor  and  Indoor  School  Life  on 
the  Physical  and  Mental  Condition  of  Children.    Fourth  Inter- 
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17.  Kite,  E.  S.,  "  The  Pineys."    Survey.    Vol.  31 :  7-14.    1913. 

18.  Kostir,  M.  S.,  The  Family  of  Sam  Sixty.    Ohio  Board  of 
Administration.    Columbus.     1916. 

19.  Peters,  A.  W.,  Relation  of  Biochemistry  to  the  Problems 
of  Psych opathology.    Journal  of  Psycho-Asthenics.     1912. 

20.  Pintner,  R.,  and  Paterson,  D.  G.,  The  Form-Board  Ability 
of    Young    Deaf    and    Hearing    Children.    Psychological    Clinic. 
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21.  Pintner,  R.,  and  Paterson,  D.  G.,  Learning  Tests  with  Deaf 
Children.     Psychological    Monographs.     Vol.   XX,    No.   4.   Jan., 
1916. 

22.  Pintner,  R.,  and  Paterson,  D.  G.,  A  Measurement  of  the 
Language    Ability    of    Deaf    Children.    Psychological     Review. 
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23.  Southard,  E.  E.,  The  Correlation  of  Brain  Anatomy,  Men- 
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and    Physical    Development    of    Children.    International    Health 
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of  Philosophy,  Psychology  and  Scientific  Methods.    1912. 

29.  Weismann,  A.,  The  Germ  Plasm.    Walter  Scott.    London. 
1893. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

SECONDARY     CASES 

A  Small  Percentage  of  Mental  Deficiency  is  Due 
to  Disease  of  the  Nervous  System.  As  we  have  al- 
ready stated,  research  points  to  the  conclusion  that 
approximately  90  percent  of  the  mentally  subnormal 
are  the  products  of  inferior  germ-plasm.  The  re- 
mainder are  the  victims  of  organic  causes,  and  are  in 
a  true  sense  pathological  cases.  In  such  cases  the 
mental  deficiency  is  said  to  be  secondary,  meaning 
that  it  depends  on  and  is  a  consequence  of  some  un- 
derlying misfortune  to  the  nervous  tissue,  but  for 
which  the  child  would  have  been  of  normal  intelli- 
gence. Since  the  nervous  system  is  the  physiological 
mechanism  fundamental  to  the  psychological  life,  de- 
struction or  disease  of  its  elements  may  result  in  psy- 
chological abnormalities.  In  the  case  of  young  chil- 
dren, disease  of  the  nervous  system  may  result  in 
failure  to  develop  intellectually.  These  are  the  true 
cases  of  arrested  development,  previously  mentioned, 
and  to  be  described  here  in  some  detail. 

Syphilis.  This  disease  is  directly  responsible  for 
a  smaller  proportion  of  mental  deficiency  in  children 
than  was  formerly  supposed.  No  doubt  this  is  due 

240 


SECONDARY   CASES  241 

to  the  fact  that  syphilis  causes  sterility,  abortion,  and 
infant  mortality,  so  that  few  offspring  of  syphilitic 
parents  live  to  show  mental  deficiency.  Syphilis  is 
an  organic  disease,  to  which  various  tissues  of  the 
body  are  susceptible,  the  nervous  tissue  among  them. 
If  it  attacks  the  nervous  tissue  of  a  young  child,  the 
typical  result  is  mental  deficiency.  If  it  attacks  the 
nervous  tissue  of  an  adult,  the  typical  results  are 
ataxia,  intellectual  deterioration,  general  paresis. 

Many  children  whose  mental  deficiency  is  due  to 
syphilis  deteriorate  as  they  grow  older,  and  follow  the 
ordinary  course  of  general  paresis.  They  are  then 
classified  under  the  concept  of  juvenile  paresis.  The 
mental  condition  is  not  recoverable,  though  treat- 
ment ordinarily  given  in  cases  of  syphilis  is  often  ef- 
fective in  allaying  active  physical  symptoms. 

There  are  certain  typical  clinical  features  which 
characterize  these  children.  The  bridge  of  the  nose 
is  often  lacking,  there  being  merely  a  flat  space  be- 
tween the  eyes.  In  many  cases  the  incisors  are  peg- 
shaped,  and  notched  on  the  edge,  being  termed 
"  Hutchinson's  teeth."  The  reflexes  are  in  the  ma- 
jority of  cases  disturbed.  There  is  a  positive  reac- 
tion in  the  Wassermann  test  of  the  blood. 

Ductless  Glands.  It  is  well  known  that  mental 
deficiency  may  result  from  malfunctioning  of  the 
thyroid  gland.  If  during  the  years  of  growth  this 
gland  does  not  secrete  its  product  into  the  system, 
the  result  is  a  child  showing  the  following  character- 


242     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

istics:  stunted  physical  growth,  spade-shaped  hands 
and  feet,  legs  short  and  bowed,  a  broad  nose,  a  thick, 
coarse  tongue,  and  a  sallow,  parchment-colored  skin, 
which  is  dry,  rough,  and  so  redundant  that  it  wrinkles 
on  the  face  and  scalp.  The  tout  ensemble  gives  us 
a  gnome-like  little  creature,  easily  recognized  for 
what  he  is  by  one  who  has  seen  many  cases  so  af- 
fected. 

These  children  are  called  cretins.  The  specific 
medicinal  treatment  is  thyroid  extract,  and  if  the 
case  is  diagnosed  in  the  first  year  of  life,  and 
treated  regularly  and  persistently  during  life,  the 
individual  may  in  some  cases  approximate  normal 
development.  In  other  cases  no  effect  of  the  treat- 
ment can  be  noted.  What  the  result  of  treatment 
will  be  in  any  given  case  is,  therefore,  unpredictable. 
The  most  common  result  seems  to  be  that  there  en- 
sues improvement  in  both  mental  and  physical  con- 
dition, even  in  cases  neglected  beyond  infancy. 
Treatment  is  sometimes  conducted  surgically,  by  the 
transplantation  of  a  thyroid  gland  from  the  neck  of 
an  animal  to  the  body  of  the  affected  child.  Favor- 
able results  have  been  reported  from  such  operations, 
but  in  any  given  case  the  outcome  is  unpredictable. 

Cretins  differ  widely  with  respect  to  intelligence. 
Some  never  develop  above  a  mental  level  of  three 
years.  Others  approximate  normality,  both  men- 
tally and  physically.  The  present  writer  knows  of 
one  case,  that  of  a  girl  of  seventeen,  who  was  suffi- 


SECONDARY   CASES  .243 

ciently  intelligent  to  hold  a  position  at  simple,  routine 
clerical  work  in  an  office,  and  yet  in  whose  case  a 
diagnosis  of  cretinism  was  made  after  consultation 
among  several  competent  specialists,  on  the  basis  of 
the  clinical  features  presented.  The  symptoms  were 
mild  but  typical.  The  physique  was  stunted,  the 
extremities  were  blunt  and  spade-like,  the  skin  was 
sallow,  with  a  tendency  to  be  redundant,  there  was  a 
history  of  slow  development,  and  the  physiological 
changes  normal  at  adolescence  had  not  taken  place. 
This  case  illustrates  the  range  of  severity  in  cretin- 
ism. 

The  principles  underlying  the  education  of  cretins 
are  the  same  as  in  mental  deficiency  in  general,  ex- 
cept for  the  fact  that  they  are  especially  character- 
ized by  poor  motor  control.  Their  gait  is  ungainly, 
they  manage  their  bodies  poorly,  and  are  not  as  near 
the  norms  as  are  ordinary  feeble-minded  children  in 
ability  to  make  eye-hand  coordinations.  Thus  on 
the  whole  they  will  not  be  very  well  adapted  to  man- 
ual training. 

The  discovery  of  the  fact  that  cretinism  is  due  to 
malfunctioning  or  absence  of  the  thyroid  gland  has 
led  to  the  expectation  that  other  cases  of  mental  de- 
ficiency may  finally  be  traced  to  abnormalities  of 
various  ductless  glands.  There  have  been  attempts 
to  treat  mentally  subnormal  children  with  extract 
from  the  pituitary  gland,  from  the  thymus  gland,  and 
with  other  endocrine  substances.  No  convincing 


244     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

results  of  such  treatment  have  been  reported.  Such 
reports  as  have  been  scientifically  made  give  the  re- 
sult of  experimentation  as  negative. 

Experimentation  in  the  matter  of  the  influence  of 
the  ductless  glands  upon  anatomical  and  physical 
anomalies  is,  however,  making  progress.  It  is  well 
established  that  malfunctioning  of  the  pituitary 
gland  affects  physical  growth.  Dr.  Walter  H.  Eddy 
has  recently  established  in  experiments  carried  out 
at  the  New  York  Hospital,  that  substances  extracted 
from  the  pancreas  of  a  sheep  very  clearly  affect  the 
physical  development  of  rats  when  administered  to 
them.  Thus  within  the  next  century  there  may 
come  about  a  much  closer  contact  between  endocri- 
nology and  psychology  than  has  existed  hitherto. 

Abnormal  Growths  in  the  Brain.  Tuberous  or 
nodular  growths  in  the  brain  tissue  may  cause  a  child 
to  be  mentally  defective.  If  these  are  present,  con- 
vulsions, headache,  twitching,  tremor,  paralysis,  and 
progressive  deterioration,  one  or  all,  are  symptom- 
atic. The  treatment  is  surgical,  but  a  favorable  out- 
come is  to  be  expected  in  rare  cases  only. 

Hydrocephalus.  Hydrocephalus  is  a  condition  in 
which  there  is  an  accumulation  of  cerebro-spinal 
fluid  within  the  ventricles  of  the  brain,  sometimes 
amounting  to  several  pints.  This  fluid  exerts  pres- 
sure upon  the  brain  tissue,  and  also  upon  the  skull, 
the  sutures  of  which  often  become  quite  widely 
spread.  These  children,  therefore,  usually  have  very 


SECONDARY   CASES  245 

large  heads,  though  in  rare  instances  where  the  bones 
of  the  skull  have  united  prematurely,  expansion  of 
the  cranium  may  not  be  possible,  in  which  case  con- 
vulsions are  frequent,  followed  by  early  death. 

The  course  of  hydrocephalus  is  unpredictable.  It 
may  progress,  and  end  in  death  during  childhood;  it 
may  become  arrested  spontaneously;  or  it  may  be 
amenable  to  periodic  surgical  treatment,  which  con- 
sists in  drawing  off  the  excess  fluid.  In  nearly  all 
cases  there  is  some  degree  of  mental  deficiency. 
Mild  cases  are  occasionally  seen  in  school,  though  the 
majority  are  easily  recognized  as  proper  subjects  for 
hospital  or  institutional  care. 

Encephalitis  and  Meningitis.  Acute  inflammation 
affecting  the  nervous  tissue  in  a  growing  child  may  be 
the  cause  of  mental  subnormality.  Usually  such 
infections  occur  in  the  early  years  of  childhood,  and 
the  mortality  from  them  is  very  great.  Of  children 
who  do  not  succumb  by  death,  a  very  few  recover 
completely,  but  in  most  cases  the  intelligence  is  im- 
paired, and  paralysis  and  sensory  defects,  especially 
deafness,  are  commonly  present. 

A  minute  description  of  the  onset,  course,  and 
pathology  of  these  conditions  is  irrelevant  to  the 
purposes  of  a  treatise  on  educational  psychology.  It 
is  furthermore  true  that  very  few  of  the  children  so 
afflicted  ever  appear  in  the  schools.  This  is  so  for 
various  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  there  are  very 
few  of  them  in  existence.  In  the  second  place,  they 


246 

are  usually  of  very  low  grade  mentally,  too  low  for 
attendance  upon  the  public  schools.  In  the  third 
place,  they  are  often  physically  crippled  in  such  a 
way  as  to  render  attendance  upon  school  impossible. 

Of  the  rare  cases  attending  schools,  it  will  often  be 
found  that  they  profit  less  by  instruction  than  do 
ordinary  defectives.  Apparently  the  lesions  which 
are  produced  by  the  disease  interfere  with  the  asso- 
ciation processes,  in  a  manner  which  is  not  seen  in 
those  who  have  never  suffered  from  any  pathological 
condition,  but  are  simply  of  inferior  quality. 

Epilepsy.  Frequently  repeated  convulsions,  which 
are  epileptic  in  character,  have  a  deleterious  effect 
upon  the  mental  life.  In  persons  who  have  reached 
the  limits  of  mental  growth  before  the  onset  of  the 
seizures,  deterioration  in  mental  processes  is  a  com- 
mon phenomenon.  When  the  attacks  begin  in  a 
growing  child,  in  whom  the  development  of  the  neu- 
rones is  still  incomplete,  growth  may  be  arrested  by 
the  disorder,  and  mental  deficiency  results.  Here 
again  the  degree  of  deficiency  varies  from  mild  infe- 
riority to  the  condition  of  idiocy. 

Epileptics  of  whatever  degree  of  intelligence  tend 
always  to  deterioration,  so  that  instruction  is  carried 
on  in  their  case  with  a  maximum  amount  of  effort  and 
a  minimum  amount  of  reward.  The  prospects  of 
improvement  by  training,  and  the  outlook  in  gen- 
eral for  these  cases  is  most  unfavorable.  Retention 
seems  to  be  especially  impaired  by  epilepsy,  so  that 


SECONDARY   CASES  247 

the  child  forgets  what  seemed  to  have  been  well 
learned  on  a  previous  occasion.  It  is  much  more 
difficult  to  build  up  a  system  of  specific  habits  in 
them,  than  in  children  simply  inferior  by  nature. 
Moreover,  epileptics  in  general  are  characterized  by 
irritability  and  other  unfortunate  traits  of  tempera- 
ment, and  feeble-minded  epileptics  are  no  exception 
to  this  rule. 

The  seizures  producing  the  mental  deficiency  may 
be  of  any  of  the  classic  types.  They  may  be  of  the 
Grand  Mai  type,  in  which  the  whole  body  is  con- 
vulsed ;  they  may  be  of  the  Petit  Mai  type,  in  which 
there  is  convulsive  twitching,  without  falling;  they 
may  be  Jacksonian  in  character,  in  which  case  only  a 
part  of  the  body  is  involved ;  or  they  may  belong  to 
the  type  called  Psychic  Epilepsy,  in  which  case  there 
are  no  motor  phenomena,  the  consciousness  alone  be- 
ing interrupted. 

It  has  been  found  that  the  epileptic  respond  best 
to  manual  training,  and  to  occupations  which  can  be 
carried  on  in  the  open  air.  It  has  always  to  be  borne 
in  mind  that  dangerous  machinery,  sharp  imple- 
ments, and  hot  objects  like  boilers  and  stoves,  must 
be  avoided  in  the  occupation  of  the  epileptic,  as  he 
may  injure  himself  in  an  attack.  Thus  cooking, 
running  elevators,  and  similar  simple  work  for  which 
high-grade  defectives  are  and  can  be  trained,  are  not 
appropriate  in  these  cases,  although  clinical  examin- 
ers constantly  find  epileptics  so  engaged. 


248    PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

Infantile  Cerebral  Degeneration.  From  a  cause 
unknown  it  sometimes  happens  that  cerebral  degen- 
eration begins  in  an  infant  or  young  child,  progress- 
ing through  a  course  in  which  total  blindness  super- 
venes, and  at  the  end  of  which  the  child  dies.  The 
disorder  is  always  fatal,  and  the  victim  of  it  does 
not,  of  course,  develop  normal  intelligence,  as  de- 
generation of  the  cortical  neurones  is  one  of  the  chief 
pathological  features  of  the  condition.  These  chil- 
dren rarely  live  to  attain  school  age,  and  even  if  one 
so  afflicted  should  survive  to  such  age,  he  would  be 
unfit  to  attend  school.  Thus  teachers  are  very  little 
concerned  with  such  cases.  Since  the  course  of  the 
disease  is  progressive  deterioration  to  inevitable  early 
death,  the  cases  are  subjects  for  nursing  rather  than 
for  teaching. 

Because  of  the  fact  that  more  than  one  child  in 
a  family  is  usually  affected,  the  disease  is  often  called 
Amaurotic  Family  Idiocy,  the  word  amaurotic  refer- 
ring to  the  atrophy  of  the  optic  nerve,  which  leads  to 
blindness. 

Injury  to  the  Cranium,  Involving  the  Brain.  Se- 
vere injury  to  the  head,  in  which  the  skull  is  frac- 
tured, and  the  brain  is  involved,  may  result  in  arrest 
of  mental  development,  if  it  occurs  in  a  young  child. 
Even  though  the  skull  remain  intact,  it  is  possible  to 
bring  about  the  catastrophe  if  the  injury  is  of  such 
a  nature  as  to  produce  hemorrhage  within  the  brain. 

Prolonged  pressure  on  the  head  during  the  process 


SECONDARY   CASES  249 

of  birth  may  work  such  injury.  Paralysis  of  one  or 
more  limbs  is  a  very  common  feature  of  such  cases. 
Motor  control  is  poor,  and  not  infrequently  the  child 
grows  up  subject  to  convulsions.  Such  condition  due 
to  pressure  during  birth  is  called  Little's  Disease,  for 
the  physician  who  originally  described  it.  Mental 
deficiency  may,  but  does  not  invariably,  accompany 
the  paralysis,  and  other  manifestations.  Since  the 
child  suffering  from  Little's  Disease  is  a  cripple,  his 
instruction  is  often  carried  on  privately,  rather  than 
as  a  member  of  a  school  group. 

Injury  to  the  head  sustained  after  birth,  during  the 
years  of  childhood,  may  also  interfere  with  mental 
growth.  Only  very  severe  accidents  are,  however, 
to  be  considered  here,  such  as  are  followed  by  hemor- 
rhage from  nose  or  mouth,  loss  of  consciousness,  frac- 
ture, vomiting,  a  change  in  temperature,  convulsions, 
or  paralysis.  Nearly  all  children  "  bump  their 
heads,"  yet  continue  to  follow  out  the  course  of  nor- 
mal development. 

It  is  true  that  children  who  are  mentally  deficient 
by  original  nature  fall  more  frequently  and  have  more 
accidents  than  do  normal  children,  simply  because 
they  are  not  so  able  to  guard  against  common  dan- 
gers. Thus  "  falling  down,"  "  hitting  the  head,"  and 
such  accidents  are  very  often  alleged  by  parents  to 
be  the  cause  of  their  offspring's  defects.  In  the  ma- 
jority of  cases  it  will  be  found  that  where  a  fall  is  the 
cause  given,  cause  and  effect  have  been  confused; 


250    PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

that  the  child  is  not  defective  because  he  fell,  but 
fell  because  he  is  defective. 

These  Causes  May  Act  on  Any  Degree  of  Native 
Intelligence.  Accident  and  disease,  such  as  we  have 
touched  upon  here,  may  degrade  to  a  lower  level  any 
degree  of  intelligence.  They  may  degrade  a  genius, 
a  mediocrity,  or  a  moron  to  the  status  of  an  idiot  or 
an  imbecile.  They  may  also  attack  children  originally 
idiotic  or  imbecile.  They  occur  without  reference  to 
the  degree  of  intelligence  potential  in  the  germ-plasm. 
The  opinion  has  been  put  forth  by  a  few  specialists 
in  the  field  that  children  of  neuropathic  ancestry  are 
more  likely  to  suffer  from  organic  diseases  of  the 
nervous  system  than  are  children  in  whose  ancestry 
there  is  no  neuropathic  strain.  This  has  never  been 
established  by  figures  scientifically  collected.  If  true, 
it  might  mean  that  the  number  of  really  secondary 
cases  is  even  smaller  than  at  present  estimated. 

Mental  Deficiency  Due  to  Accident  and  Disease  is 
not  Hereditary.  In  cases  where  a  child  of  poten- 
tially good  intelligence  becomes  the  victim  of  any  of 
the  organic  misfortunes  which  have  been  mentioned 
in  this  chapter,  and  is  mentally  deficient  as  a  result, 
this  mental  deficiency  is  not  hereditary.  The  nature  of 
the  germ-plasm  is  such  that  it  cannot  be  affected  by 
injuries  to  the  nervous  tissues,  any  more  than  it  can  be 
affected  by  the  amputation  of  an  arm  from  the  body, 
or  by  dyeing  the  hair  of  the  head.  The  chances  are 
small  that  any  child  affected  in  the  manner  which 


SECONDARY    CASES  251 

has  been  described  will  have  direct  descendants,  so 
that  the  question  of  heredity  has  a  practical  bearing 
only  in  the  case  of  his  relatives.  The  hereditary 
background  is  not  impaired  in  the  least  by  the  pres- 
ence of  a  truly  secondary  case  of  feeble-mindedness 
in  the  family,  since  this  is  a  matter  of  external  in- 
fluences, and  not  a  matter  of  the  constitution  of  the 
germ-plasm.  Whether  a  given  case  is  secondary  or 
not  can  be  determined  only  by  a  competent  special- 
ist. Parental  and  popular  prejudice  would,  of 
course,  tend  to  find  some  external  cause  for  all  men- 
tal defect,  would  tend  to  regard  all  cases  as  second- 
ary ;  whereas  very  few  cases  really  fall  into  this  cate- 
gory. 

Teachers  Do  Not  Often  Find  Secondary  Cases  in 
School.  It  is  clear  that  accident  and  disease  suffi- 
ciently severe  to  produce  mental  deficiency  will,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  be  survived  by  few  children.  The 
mortality  among  children  afflicted  with  syphilis,  ab- 
normal growths  in  the  brain,  hydrocephalus,  enceph- 
alitis, meningitis,  cerebral  degeneration,  and  frac- 
ture of  the  skull  is  very  great.  Since  no  great  pro- 
portion of  children  are  ever  afflicted  with  these  mis- 
fortunes in  the  first  place,  and  since  only  a  few  of 
those  afflicted  survive,  it  follows  that  among  children 
of  school  age,  few  exist.  Of  the  few  who  do  exist, 
most  are  reduced  to  the  status  of  idiocy  or  imbecility, 
and  many  are  crippled,  so  that  they  are  obviously 
not  "  physically  and  mentally  able  to  attend  school." 


252    PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

Those  who  are  able  to  receive  instruction,  are  often 
taught  privately  at  home. 

The  secondary  cases  of  mental  deficiency  which  are 
oftenest  met  in  the  elementary  school,  and  in  special 
classes,  are  the  epileptics  and  the  cretins.  Teachers 
should,  therefore,  be  able  to  recognize  these  condi- 
tions when  confronted  by  them.  In  mental  ability 
they  are  on  the  whole  much  more  uneven  than  the 
feeble-minded,  whose  deficiency  is  primary.  Second- 
ary cases  are  characterized  by  irregularity  of  per- 
formance in  tests  of  intelligence. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Baldwin,  B.  T.,  A  Study  in  Mental  Retardation  in  Relation 
to  Etiology.    Medical  Record.    Jan.  27,  1917. 

2.  Barr,  M.  W.,  Mental  Defectives.    P.  Blakiston's  Son  and 
Company.    Philadelphia.    1913. 

3.  Eddy,  W.  H.,  The  Isolation  of  a  Growth-Producing  Sub- 
stance from  Sheep  Pancreas.    Journal  of  Biological  "Chemistry. 
Oct.,  1916. 

4.  Jelliffe,  S.  E.,  and  White,  W.  A.,  Diseases  of  the  Nervous 
System.    Lea  and  Febiger.    Philadelphia.    Second  Edition.    1917. 

5.  Shuttleworth,  G.  E.,  and  Potts,  W.  A.,  Mentally  Deficient 
Children.    P.  Blakiston's  Son  and  Company.    Philadelphia.    1916. 

6.  Tredgold,  A.  F.,  Mental   Deficiency.    William  Wood  and 
Company.    New  York.    Second  Edition.    1915. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

NERVOUS   AND    MENTAL   DISORDERS   WHICH    MAT 
COMPLICATE    MENTAL  DEFICIENCY 

The  Mentally  Deficient  are  Subject  to  Mental  and 
Nervous  Disorders  Which  may  Affect  Children  in 
General.  A  low  grade  of  intelligence  is  no  insurance 
against  mental  and  nervous  disorders,  to  which  chil- 
dren in  general  may  be  subject.  Just  as  the  feeble- 
minded may  contract  any  organic  disease,  so  they 
may  be  affected  by  disorders  of  the  mind  and  nerves. 
In  such  cases  the  disease  or  disorder  is  the  accompan- 
iment of  the  mental  subnormality ,  there  being  no 
causal  relation. 

In  addition  to  the  organic  diseases  and  traumata  of 
the  nervous  system,  which  have  already  been  men- 
tioned, and  which  may  affect  the  originally  feeble- 
minded to  reduce  them  further  in  mental  status,  it 
is  necessary  to  consider  briefly  certain  other  nervous 
and  mental  disorders,  which  occasionally  complicate 
mental  deficiency  in  children. 

Speech  Dejects.  Speech  defects  are  much  more 
common  among  subnormal  children  than  among  chil- 
dren chosen  at  random.  The  power  of  learning  to 
formulate  words  rests  upon  a  basis  of  various  complex 

253 


254     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

abilities  which  we  have  called  general  intelligence, 
Individuals  below  a  certain  mental  age  are  incapable 
of  using  language;  in  the  sense  that  they  cannot 
learn  to  express  their  ideas  or  trends  by  the  use  of 
articulate  sounds. 

It  has  already  been  noted  that  lateness  in  talking 
is  characteristic  of  those  who  are  subnormal  in  gen- 
eral intelligence.  As  speech  develops  in  the  subnor- 
mal it  often  tends  to  be  defective  in  some  respect, 
most  commonly  in  respect  to  distinctness  of  articu- 
lation. Dr.  Wallin  found  that  in  the  classes  for 
mentally  deficient  children  in  St.  Louis  about  a 
fourth  of  the  children  were  defective  in  speech.  "  In 
general  the  lower  the  grade  of  intelligence  of  the 
group,  the  greater  the  prevalence  of  speech  defects." 
All  forms  of  speech  defect  except  stuttering  were 
more  prevalent  among  mentally  deficient  than 
among  normal  children.  Other  investigations  have 
led  to  similar  conclusions,  except  that  all  have  not 
agreed  that  stuttering  is  more  common  among  chil- 
dren of  normal  intelligence. 

As  Dr.  Wallin  observes :  "  It  is  not  at  all  surprising 
that  there  should  be  a  close  correlation  between 
speech  defects  and  mental  defect,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  mechanism  of  speech  is  highly  complicated, 
involving  the  harmonious  integrative  action  of  a 
number  of  delicate  anatomical,  physiological,  and 
mental  adjustments.  The  above  facts  indicate  how 
necessary  it  is  that  teachers  of  feeble-minded  and 


NERVOUS  AND   MENTAL   DISORDERS         255 

backward  children  should  be  capable  of  correcting  at 
least  the  simpler  types  of  faulty  articulation." 

Two  peculiarly  interesting  anomalies  of  speech 
met  with  in  low-grade  institutional  cases  are  echola- 
lia  and  coprolalia.  Echolalia  is  a  curious  tendency 
found  in  defectives,  who  are  mentally  at  what  Binet 
calls  "  the  dawn  of  speech,"  to  repeat  or  echo  what  is 
said  to  them  or  in  their  hearing.  Individuals  who 
have  not  sufficient  intelligence  to  originate  remarks 
of  their  own,  may  be  able  to  "  echo  "  quite  well. 
They  show  no  understanding  of  the  question-re- 
sponse situation,  but  imitate  words  and  inflections 
which  they  hear.  Sometimes  they  repeat  gestures 
as  well.  The  same  phenomena  are  observable  in 
young  children  who  are  at  "  the  dawn  of  speech," 
but  are  not  so  noticeable  in  them  as  they  quickly 
pass  beyond  this  mental  level,  —  may  pass  it  in  a 
week  or  a  month,  perhaps,  —  whereas  the  defective 
who  reaches  his  ultimate  intellectual  level  just  at 
this  point  shows  the  phenomenon  all  his  life. 

Binet  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  imbecile, 
Denise,  who  could  echo  quite  well,  though  she  was 
forever  incapable  of  developing  the  complete  use  of 
spoken  language.  Denise  was  twenty-five  years  old, 
an  iiynate  of  an  institution  in  Paris.  Binet  gives 
the  following  description  of  her. 

"  She  is  affected  with  echolalia  and  mimicry  accompanied  by 
all  kinds  of  comical  actions.  If  one  coughs,  she  coughs;  if  one 
blows  his  nose,  she  blows  hers;  if  one  laughs,  she  laughs.  She  re- 
peats the  last  word  of  a  sentence  which  is  said,  or  else  says  yes 


256     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

in  acquiescence,  even  when  one  is  paying  no  attention  to  her. 
At  the  same  time  she  imitates  whatever  one  does.  If  one  writes, 
she  takes  on  a  mischievous  air  and  pretends  to  write  with  her 
finger  on  the  table;  if  one  scratches  himself  she  scratches  her- 
self; if  one  crosses  his  arms  she  does  the  same;  if  one  twirls  his 
moustache,  she  imitates  the  action.  The  imitation  by  gesture 
or  voice  is  done  quickly,  accompanied  by  a  laugh  and  mocking 
air,  but  the  imitation  does  not  continue  long.  Very  quickly  her 
attention  fails;  Denise  thinks  of  other  things,  looks  about  her, 
then  after  a  time  comes  back  to  us  and  if  we  continue  to  write  she 
resumes  her  imitative  gestures.  .  .  .  Before  a  witness  whom  she 
does  not  know  Denise  is  intimidated,  remains  shy,  and  shows  no 
evidence  of  echolalia  or  mimicry.  It  is,  therefore,  something  dif- 
ferent from  reflex  echolalia,  since  it  is  under  the  influence  of 
psychic  causes  and  is  exercised  only  under  certain  easily  deter- 
mined conditions.  Neither  is  it  a  voluntary  echolalia,  the  art 
of  imitation  as  practiced  by  a  comedian  who  gives  himself  to  this 
effort  as  others  give  themselves  to  any  sort  of  work.  It  is  an 
intermediate  form  which  is  at  the  same  time  partly  reflex  and 
partly  voluntary,  and  which  very  clearly  expresses  the  childish 
character  of  Denise." 

Coprolalia  is  the  tendency  to  utter  certain  words  or 
phrases  spontaneously,  without  any  appropriate  ex- 
ternal stimulus  having  been  applied.  The  individ- 
ual bursts  forth  suddenly  at  intervals  with  his  ex- 
pression. For  example  one  imbecile  repeated  at  in- 
tervals, "  I  want  to  know,"  and  another  was  accus- 
tomed to  utter  explosively,  "Get  out!  Get  out!  " 
Both  echolalia  and  coprolalia  occur  generally  among 
defectives  who  are  too  low-grade  to  develop  language, 
and  who  are  therefore  not  school  cases. 

Occasionally  a  subnormal  child  is  found  who  has 
developed  a  language  of  his  own.  Being  unable  to 
articulate  the  word  which  he  hears  applied  to  that  of 


NERVOUS  AND   MENTAL   DISORDERS        257 

which  he  wishes  to  speak,  he  approximates  it  with 
some  utterance  of  his  own,  and  by  repetition  makes 
the  association  permanent;  and  he  continues  to  use 
these  improvised  words  even  after  he  reaches  a  higher 
level  of  intelligence,  at  which  the  correct  expressions 
could  be  learned.  To  re-educate  such  a  child  in 
speech  is  a  long  and  tedious  task. 

There  has  been  a  considerable  amount  of  discussion 
bearing  on  the  relation  of  "  handedness  "  to  speech. 
It  has  been  indicated  by  investigation  of  the  relation 
of  speech  defects  to  "  handedness  "  that  attempts  to 
"  change  over  "  a  right-handed  child  to  the  left,  or 
a  left-handed  child  to  the  right,  frequently  result  in 
stuttering.  That  there  is  some  connection  between 
the  speech  mechanism  and  the  mechanisms  control- 
ling the  hands  is  further  indicated  by  data  bearing 
upon  right  hemiplegia  and  left  hemiplegia  (paralysis 
of  right  and  of  left  sides,  respectively),  and  the  dis- 
turbances of  spoken  and  written  speech  attendant 
thereupon.  On  the  whole,  it  would  seem  to  be  the 
wisest  policy  not  to  try  to  "  change  over  "  a  child  who 
is  decidedly  left-handed,  or  decidedly  right-handed. 

The  correction  of  serious  speech  defects  can  be  suc- 
cessfully undertaken  only  by  teachers  who  have  made 
a  special  study  of  the  subject.  In  some  cases  the 
condition  calls  for  surgical  or  dental  treatment,  as  in 
tied-tongue,  cleft  palate,  and  malformation  of  the 
teeth.  Treatment  should  be  prescribed  by  a  special- 
ist, wherever  the  services  of  a  specialist  are  available. 


258     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

Chorea    (St.    Vitus    Dance}.      This    disorder    is 
named  from  the  Greek  word  which  means  to  dance. 


Fio.  21.  —  Facsimile  of  a  letter  written  by  a  feeble-minded  child 
with  chorea. 

Dancing  is  suggested  by  the  gait  of  the  child  affected, 
as  in  the  more  pronounced  cases  there  is  great  diffi- 
culty in  coordinating  the  movements  of  the  grosser 


NERVOUS  AND   MENTAL   DISORDERS        259 

muscles.  The  outstanding  feature  is  impairment  of 
motor  control,  which  ranges  in  severity  from  mere 
twitching  of  the  finer  muscles,  so  slight  that  it  can 
be  detected  only  by  instruments  of  precision,  to  a 
condition  in  which  the  child  is  in  constant  motion, 
jerking  and  twitching  in  all  his  muscles.  The  move- 
ments are  arhythmical  in  character,  —  not  like  that 
rhythmical  nodding  of  the  head,  which  is  sometimes 
seen  in  old  people. 

The  extreme  interference  with  voluntary  move- 
ment is  well  illustrated  in  Figure  21,  which  shows  a 
letter  written  by  a  feeble-minded  child  with  chorea. 
It  is  also  illustrated  by  the  motor  test  reproduced  in 
Figure  22,  which  shows  the  condition  of  a  boy  of 
normal  intelligence,  suffering  from  chorea  in  severe 
degree.  In  these  children  often  the  first  symptom 
noted  is  that  handwriting  is  poor.  Of  course  all  man- 
ual work  is  a  strain  upon  them.  They  "  drop 
things,"  spill  ink,  stumble,  speak  indistinctly,  and 
"  cannot  keep  still  "  in  school.  Any  child  exhibiting 
these  symptoms  in  noticeable  degree  should  become 
an  object  of  concern  to  the  psychological  clinic. 

That  mental  symptoms  may  be  present  in  chorea 
is  seen  in  the  case  of  the  child  whose  motor  test  is 
shown  in  Figure  22.  Fred  F—  -  was  seen  in  1916, 
on  the  Psychopathic  Wards  at  Bellevue  Hospital. 
He  was  11  years  3  months  old,  and  had  been  in  school 
up  to  the  very  day  of  his  appearance  at  the  hospital. 
Motor  symptoms  were  very  marked,  speech  was 


260     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 


indistinct,  and  there  were  delusions  of  grandeur. 
These  delusions  were  fairly  stable,  remaining  approx- 
imately the  same  from  day  to  day.  He  said  on  ex- 
amination :  "  I  have  seven  million  dollars.  I  sold 


LJTJTJTJ 


A. 

FIG.  22  (A).  —  Motor  test  and  handwriting  of  a  normal  child. 


Fio.  22  (B) .  —  Motor  test  and  handwriting  of  a  child  suffering 
from  chorea. 


diamonds  and  got  it.  I  have  a  big  house  on  Fifth 
Avenue.  Big  white  house.  When  I  get  out  of  here 
I'm  going  down  to  Texas  to  be  a  cowboy.  ...  At 
night  I  see  big  faces  on  the  walls.  Big  horns  on 
them.  In  the  day  I  see  little  things  flyin'  around  me. 


NERVOUS  AND   MENTAL   DISORDERS         261 

They  scare  me.  I  knock  'em,  —  like  that !  I  hear 
ladies  talkin'  underneath  the  pillow.  They  say, 
'  Catch  him.  Bring  him  down  here.'  They're  going 
to  eat  me.  When  I  hear  them,  I  get  up  quick  and 
try  to  find  a  book  to  read,  so  I'll  fool  'em." 

At  night  this  child  cried  out,  and  frequently  he 
rose  and  walked  out  of  his  room  in  his  night  clothes. 

The  mental  symptoms  are  usually,  however,  not 
of  this  bizarre  character,  consisting  rather  in  a  gen- 
eral apathy  and  dullness  of  attitude.  Pulse  is  accel- 
erated, and  temperature  may  be  high.  A  child  suf- 
fering from  well-defined  chorea  has  no  place  in  school, 
and  should  be  removed  for  medical  treatment  until 
he  recovers. 

Hysteria,  and  Other  Functional  Disorders.  Among 
the  soldiers  of  the  recent  war  who  showed  hysterical 
symptoms,  and  who  were  incapacitated  by  functional 
neuroses,  were  many  of  subnormal  intelligence. 
Hundreds  of  men  of  very  low  grade  intellectually 
were  inducted  into  the  service  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war,  before  the  psychological  methods  of  exam- 
ination had  been  put  into  use.  In  this  way  it  came 
about  that  men  as  low  in  the  scale  of  intelligence  as 
the  six-year  level  were  found  among  those  suffering 
from  hysteria  in  the  hospitals.  It  has  thus  been 
shown  that  very  low  orders  of  intelligence  are  capa- 
ble of  taking  refuge  in  hysteria,  when  faced  by  an 
unavoidable  environment  from  which  they  shrink 
instinctively. 


262     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

In  many  cases  histories  of  these  soldiers  were  ob- 
tained, showing  that  they  had  evinced  hysterical 
symptoms  in  childhood  and  adolescence.  Mental 
deficiency  may  be  complicated  by  hysterical  attacks, 
just  as  mental  mediocrity,  and  mental  superiority 
may  be  so  affected. 

Dementia  Praecox.  The  relation  between  intelli- 
gence level  and  the  occurrence  of  various  forms  of  in- 
sanity is  practically  unknown.  No  research  exists 
to  show  whether  there  is  an  increase  or  a  decrease  in 
liability  to  insane  states  as  we  go  downward  in  the 
scale  of  intelligence.  It  may  be  that  a  stupid  man 
is  more  likely  to  become  insane  than  a  mediocre  man 
or  a  gifted  man;  or  there  may  be  no  relation  what- 
ever between  degree  of  intelligence  and  the  liability 
to  become  mentally  unbalanced ;  or  the  relation  may 
vary  greatly  with  the  different  psychoses. 

It  is  certain  that  adolescents  of  subnormal  intelli- 
gence may  and  do  develop  the  type  of  psychosis 
called  dementia  praecox.  On  the  other  hand  there 
is  probably  a  limit  to  the  intellectual  level  at  which 
this  may  occur.  Certainly  no  one  has  ever  reported 
an  idiot  or  a  low-grade  imbecile  as  having  developed 
dementia  praecox.  Evidently  a  certain  amount  of 
mental  life  is  necessary  as  a  basis  for  the  disorder, 
which  argues  in  favor  of  the  theory  that  dementia 
praecox  is  psychological  in  character,  and  not  of 
organic  origin. 

The  forms  of  abnormal  behavior  subsumed  under 


NERVOUS   AND   MENTAL   DISORDERS         263 

the  concept  of  dementia  praecox  are  numerous  and 
varied,  and  will  not  be  discussed  in  detail  here.  De- 
tailed information  on  the  subject  is  to  be  found  in 
the  references  appended.  In  general  it  may  be  stated 
that  the  disorder  is  characterized  by  emotional  in- 
adequacy, pathological  indifference  to  surroundings, 
and  phantasy.  False  beliefs  (delusions)  and  false 
percepts  (hallucinations)  are  usually  present.  The 
child  or  adolescent  expresses  absurd  ideas,  hears 
voices,  sees  visions,  and  otherwise  conducts  himself 
strangely.  The  age  of  onset  is  most  frequently  be- 
tween fifteen  and  twenty-five  years,  though  it  has 
been  reported  as  early  as  ten  years.  Dementia 
praecox  is  not  a  recoverable  condition,  and  the  indi- 
vidual suffering  from  this  psychosis  is  a  menace  to 
himself  and  others,  and  has  no  place  in  school. 

Manic-Depressive  Insanity.  This  mental  disor- 
der occasionally  occurs  among  children,  and  among 
subnormal  children  as  well  as  among  others.  In  the 
manic  phase  the  child  is  abnormally  elated,  active, 
flighty,  incoherent,  and  shows  other  psychological 
and  neurological  symptoms.  In  the  depressed  phase 
he  is  indifferent  and  inactive,  often  will  not  even 
make  the  effort  to  eat,  or  attend  to  other  personal 
needs,  sits  with  bowed  head,  does  not  answer  when 
spoken  to,  or  else  answers  very  slowly,  and  presents 
in  general  the  picture  of  extreme  woe.  Sometimes 
melancholy  delusions  are  present,  and  the  patient 
hears  voices,  sees  visions,  and  so  forth. 


264     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 


In  these  cases  one  phase  follows  the  other,  in  va- 
rious combinations.  There  may  be  first  a  period  of 
depression  followed  by  a  period  of  excitement;  or  a 


e&jLibr    (^0**"*s   ' 


Fio.  23.  —  Facsimile  of  a  letter  written  by  a  child  in  the  manic 
phase  of  manic-depressive  insanity. 


NERVOUS  AND   MENTAL   DISORDERS         265 

period  of  excitement  followed  by  depression;  or 
either  may  be  followed  by  a  period  of  normal  behav- 
ior, which  is  in  turn  followed  by  the  opposite  mood. 
The  chances  of  recovery  from  any  single  attack  are 


FIG.  24.  —  Drawing  by  a  child  in  the  manic  phase  of  manic-depressive 
insanity. 

very  good,  always,  however,  with  liability  to  recur- 
rence. 

Figure  23  and  Figure  24  show  respectively  a  letter 
and  some  drawings  produced  by  a  child  eleven  years 
of  age,  who  was  brought  to  the  Psychopathic  Wards 
of  Bellevue  Hospital  in  a  typical  manic  state.  This 
letter  and  these  drawings  were  produced  at  the  height 


266     PSYCHOLOGY    OF    SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

of  the  attack,  spontaneously.  The  child  was  in  the 
7 A  grade  in  school,  and  was  slightly  superior  to  the 
average  in  general  intelligence,  showing  on  examina- 
tion after  recovery  a  mental  age  of  thirteen  years, 
two  months. 

That  a  similar  condition  may  occur  in  a  child  of 
subnormal  intelligence  is  shown  by  the  following 
case :  Rachel  M  — ,  a  child  of  twelve  years,  was 
brought  for  mental  examination  at  the  request  of  a 
society  interested  in  child  welfare.  The  child  had 
been  observed  performing  peculiar  antics  in  a  street 
car,  and  upon  being  spoken  to  would  tell  neither  her 
name  nor  her  address,  but  loudly  demanded  a  nickel. 
Upon  examination  she  showed  well-marked  flight  of 
ideas,  as  follows :  "  Crazy  —  they  say  —  crazy. 
Mendelsohn  —  whoop-ee !  Mendelsohn  comes  — 
my  mother  is  crazy  —  ha!  ha!  blood  —  blood  in  the 
eye  —  blood  in  your  eye  —  the  children  —  where's 
my  penny?  —  jail  —  gone  to  jail.  So  many  children 
are  lost  —  go  to  H  —  !  go  to  H  —  !  No,  I  don't  say 
you  go  to  H  — ,  I  say  Mendelsohn  go  to  H  — . 
Where  is  my  penny?  and  there  goes  teacher  "  .  .  . 

This  string  of  incoherencies  was  continuous.  The 
child  was  placed  in  the  hospital,  where  she  was  ex- 
tremely mischievous  and  garrulous,  and  where  she 
answered  hallucinatory  voices.  After  six  days  the 
symptoms  subsided,  and  at  the  end  of  the  tenth  day 
she  was  in  condition  to  be  discharged  to  the  custody 
of  her  parents,  who  had  located  her.  An  intelligence 


NERVOUS   AND   MENTAL   DISORDERS        267 

examination,  conducted  after  all  symptoms  had  sub- 
sided, gave  her  a  mental  level  of  five  years,  two 
months.  This  was  in  entire  agreement  with  the  facts 
of  her  developmental  history,  and  her  school  history. 
At  the  age  of  twelve  years  she  was  still  in  the  first 
grade  at  school,  though  she  had  attended  since  the 
age  of  six  years.  She  had  never  learned  to  write 
even  her  own  name  legibly,  and  could  recognize  only 
a  few  simple  monosyllables  when  asked  to  read.  Her 
family  knew  that  she  had  "  never  been  bright,"  but 
stated  that  this  was  her  first  attack  of  this  nature. 
She  had  "  never  acted  in  this  way  before,"  and  had 
never  before  wandered  away  from  home. 

A  case  of  depression  in  a  feeble-minded  child  is 
the  following :  Walter  S  —  ,  a  boy  of  fourteen  years, 
was  sent  for  mental  examination,  accompanied  by 
the  following  statement  from  a  physician,  in  the  De- 
partment of  Education :  "  The  Bureau  of  Attendance 
of  the  Department  of  Education  requested  me  to 
examine  a  boy  fourteen  years  of  age,  named  Walter 
S  — ,  who  has  behaved  abnormally  only  since  last 
Monday,  at  which  time  he  left  home  at  7:40  A.M., 
for  the  early  session  at  a  parochial  school.  He  re- 
turned at  10  A.M.,  and  could  give  no  account  of  him- 
self. He  is  afraid  to  leave  the  home  premises  unac- 
companied by  his  parents.  He  can  answer  only 
simple  questions,  and  them  with  great  difficulty. 
He  has  a  slight  contusion  above  the  left  ear.  No 
paralysis.  No  history  of  nose-bleed.  Has  not  been 


268    PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

unconscious,  so  far  as  known.  He  was  delirious  last 
night.  I  telephoned  this  P.M.,  and  was  directed  to 
send  him  for  observation." 

The  boy  was  brought  by  his  father  who  stated  that 
he  had  always  been  backward  in  school.  He  knew 
the  child  was  "  not  bright,"  for  he  had  been  "  left 
back  "  five  times,  and  had  attained  only  grade  5A  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  years.  He  had,  however,  never 
acted  in  this  peculiar  manner  before. 

Upon  examination  the  boy  was  very  much  de- 
pressed. There  was  no  mobility  of  facial  expression, 
and  reaction  time  was  abnormally  long.  He  re- 
sponded to  questions  with  wholly  irrelevant  remarks, 
such  as,  "  He  will  go  to  hell,"  "  They  will  sin  if  they 
eat  meat  on  Friday,"  "  They  must  pray  for  him." 
He  was  afflicted  with  self-accusatory  ideas.  He  de- 
clared that  the  whole  world  hated  him.  This  was 
because  he  was  ruptured  as  a  baby,  on  account  of 
his  mother  holding  him  too  much.  He  reiterated  the 
statement  that  he  would  go  to  hell,  because  he  had 
been  so  bad.  When  he  wept  he  said  it  was  because 
he  had  cursed  at  the  teacher.  This  was  a  very  wicked 
thing  to  do.  God  spoke  to  him.  There  was  a  band 
of  iron  about  his  head,  and  people  gazed  at  him  on 
account  of  his  sins. 

In  about  a  week  the  symptoms  subsided  in  the  case 

of  Walter  S ,  and  he  became  cheerful,  and  normal 

in  behavior.  Intelligence  examination  revealed  a 


NERVOUS   AND   MENTAL    DISORDERS        269 

mental  level  of  eight  years.  This  finding  was  en- 
tirely consistent  with  the  developmental  history  of 
the  boy,  and  with  his  school  status.  His  case  illus- 
trates very  well  the  occurrence  of  a  psychotic  episode 
in  a  child  of  subnormal  intelligence. 

Other  Forms  of  Mental  and  Nervous  Disorder  in 
the  Subnormal.  We  have  now  mentioned  briefly  the 
nervous  and  mental  disorders  which  are  most  com- 
monly found  among  children,  —  among  mentally  de- 
ficient children  as  well  as  among  others.  Every 
teacher  should  know  of  the  existence  of  these  disor- 
ders. Many  a  case  regarded  as  disciplinary,  over 
which  the  teacher  wears  out  her  energies,  really  be- 
longs to  one  or  another  of  the  conditions  described 
here.  Our  discussion  has  been  by  no  means  exhaus- 
tive, but  only  such  as  will  enable  teachers  to  be  in- 
telligently on  the  lookout  for  symptoms  of  real  men- 
tal and  nervous  disturbance  in  children  who  present 
special  problems  of  discipline.  When  such  symp- 
toms are  noted  by  a  teacher,  the  child  should  be  re- 
ported at  once  to  the  psychological  clinic,  or  to 
whatever  person  is  in  a  position  to  make  a  diagnosis 
of  the  case. 

In  addition  to  the  disorders  specifically  mentioned 
here,  it  must  be  stated  that  the  adult  feeble-minded 
may  suffer  from  any  organic  disease  of  the  nervous 
system  which  may  affect  persons  in  general ;  and  that 
they  may  develop  any  psychosis,  except  such  psy- 
choses as  require  a  well  developed  intellectual  life  as 


270     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

a  basis.  It  is  possible  that  paranoia  (sometimes  for- 
merly called  "reasoning  insanity")  cannot  develop  in 
feeble-minded  persons,  and  that  they  may  be  exempt 
from  certain  other  forms  of  insanity  by  virtue  of  their 
inability  to  formulate  and  entertain  ethical  ideals,  or 
strenuous  personal  ambitions.  The  lower  the  intelli- 
gence, the  simpler  is  the  mental  life,  and  hence  the 
fewer  are  the  mental  conflicts  which  arise.  Thus  it 
is  possible,  though  not  known  to  be  a  fact,  that  low 
intelligence  may  constitute  an  exemption  from  cer- 
tain mental  disorders  which  are  psychological  in 
character. 


1.  Gordon,  A.,  Psychoses  in  Mental  Defects.    American  Jour- 
nal of  Insanity.    April,  1919. 

2.  Hollingworth,  L.  S.,  Echolalia  in  Idiots.    Journal  of  Edu- 
cational Psychology.    April,  1917. 

3.  Richards,    E.    L.,    Psych opathological    Observations    in    a 
Group  of  Feeble-Minded.    American  Journal  of  Insanity.    March, 
1919. 

4.  Tredgold,    A.    F.,    Insane    Aments.     (Mental    Deficiency.) 
William    Wood    and    Company.    New    York.    Second    Edition. 
1915. 

5.  Wallin,  J.  E.  W.,  Report  on  Speech  Defectives  in  the  St. 
Louis  Public  Schools.    Board  of  Education.    St.  Louis.     1915-16. 

6.  Walsh,  E.  A.,  A  Study  of  the  Speech  Defects  of  Ninety-One 
Ungraded  Class  Children.    Master's  Essay.    Columbia  University. 
1917. 

7.  White,  W.,  Outlines  of  Psychiatry.    Nervous  and   Mental 
Disease  Publishing  Company.    Washington.    Sixth  Edition.    1918. 


CHAPTER   XV 

SPECIAL   CLASSES   AND   SPECIAL   SCHOOLS 

Why  Have  Special  Classes  Been  Established  f  Be- 
fore the  enactment  of  compulsory  education  laws, 
those  children  who  did  not  "  fit "  into  the  system 
suitable  for  the  majority  failed  to  attend  school,  or 
were  excluded  by  act  of  the  school  itself.  Subnormal 
children  have  always  existed,  doubtless  in  about  the 
same  proportion  as  they  now  exist,  but  the  school  did 
not  become  acutely  aware  of  them  until  the  law  de- 
creed that  every  child  must  receive  an  education,  "  if 
physically  and  mentally  able  to  attend  school."  The 
state  then  hired  truant  officers  to  bring  in  those  who 
of  their  own  volition  failed  to  attend,  and  the  school 
was  prohibited  from  "  expelling "  children.  Thus 
the  subnormal  child  and  the  school  were  forced  into 
a  reluctant  mutual  recognition  of  each  other. 

The  recognition  on  the  part  of  the  school  was  re- 
luctant because  "  an  education  "  meant  that  which 
constituted  the  curriculum  for  the  great  average,  and 
"  education  "  in  this  sense  these  "  misfits  "  were  un- 
able to  assimilate.  The  teachers  in  the  elementary 
school  labored  long  and  diligently  with  them,  not 
recognizing  the  true  source  of  difficulty.  It  reflects 

271 


272    PSYCHOLOGY   OP  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

unfavorably  upon  a  teacher's  ability  when  many  of 
her  pupils  are  unpromotable.  Thus  the  problem  of 
instructing  and  disciplining  these  children  has  been 
a  great  drain  upon  the  time  and  energies  of  teachers, 
who  were  conscientious  in  the  belief  that  all  are 
created  equal,  and  that  all  can  learn  equally  if  a 
sufficient  effort  is  made.  Nor  is  it  correct  to  speak 
of  this  situation  in  the  past  tense,  for  it  still  exists  in 
the  majority  of  our  public  schools  to-day.  The  cities 
are  taking  the  lead,  but  towns,  villages,  and  rural  dis- 
tricts have,  in  most  cases,  still  to  face  the  problem  in 
the  light  of  scientific  fact. 

The  same  increasing  interest  in  public  education 
which  led  to  the  enactment  of  compulsory  school 
laws,  also  led  to  the  professional  training  of  teachers. 
In  the  professional  training  of  teachers  psychology 
is  of  fundamental  importance,  and  one  of  the  chief 
interests  of  educational  psychology  for  the  past 
twenty  years  has  been  the  study  of  individual  differ- 
ences. Gradually  those  facts  which  we  have  sum- 
marized in  the  first  chapter  of  this  book  were  recog- 
nized by  progressive  educators.  It  was  learned  that 
children  differ  by  original  nature  over  a  very  wide 
range  of  ability ;  that  what  constitutes  education  for 
one,  may  not  constitute  education  for  another;  that 
the  schools  must  offer  a  widely  differentiated  cur- 
riculum if  compulsory  education  is  to  succeed. 
Thus  special  classes  began  to  appear  here  and  there 
over  the  country,  as  part  of  the  school  system. 


SPECIAL   CLASSES  AND   SPECIAL   SCHOOLS    273 

These  have  been  established  not  only  for  the  children 
who  are  subnormal  in  general  intelligence,  but  for 
children  who  for  various  reasons  do  not  fit  into  the 
regular  classes.  In  1915  the  city  of  Cleveland  had 
special  classes,  separately  conducted,  for  truants,  for 
the  deaf,  for  the  blind,  for  the  epileptic,  for  the  crip- 
pled, for  the  tubercular,  for  the  foreign  born  and  re- 
cently immigrated,  for  the  dull  and  backward  (not 
so  low  in  the  scale  as  the  feeble-minded),  and  for  the 
mentally  defective.  In  addition  to  these  various 
kinds  of  special  classes,  provision  is  being  made  here 
and  there  for  the  very  superior  children,  who  can  eas- 
ily cover  two  or  three  years'  work  while  the  average 
child  is  covering  one  year's  work. 

The  History  of  Special  Classes  for  the  Subnormal 
in  the  United  States.  As  long  ago  as  1872  Dr.  Wil- 
liam T.  Harris,  then  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Education,  called  attention  to  what  he  designated  the 
"  pedagogical  misfits  "  in  St.  Louis,  but  the  educa- 
tional world  was  not  roused  to  any  effective  interest 
in  the  matter  at  that  time.  The  idea  of  the  actual 
establishment  of  special  classes  for  deficient  children 
in  the  public  schools  seems  to  have  been  first  intro- 
duced publicly  to  American  teachers  as  a  professional 
group  by  August  Schenck,  of  Detroit,  in  1878,  in  an 
address  before  the  American  Teachers'  Association. 
Acting  on  the  suggestions  there  made,  Dr.  Andrew 
Rickoff,  Superintendent  of  Schools  for  the  city  of 
Cleveland,  established  two  special  classes  in  Cleve- 


274     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

land,  limiting  them  to  children  who  presented  disci- 
plinary problems.  The  second  special  class  was  es- 
tablished in  Chicago,  in  1892.  This  has  since  been 
expanded  into  the  Department  of  Child  Study  and  of 
Special  Classes,  for  which  Chicago  has  long  been 
noted. 

New  York  established  its  first  special  class  in  1895, 
under  the  direction  of  Miss  Elizabeth  Farrell.  Un- 
der Miss  Farrell's  direction,  this  work  has  grown  un- 
til now  there  are  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  special 
classes  for  subnormal  children  in  New  York  City. 
From  1895  up  to  the  present  time  the  movement  for 
special  classes  has  grown  apace,  so  that  in  1911,  ac- 
cording to  the  Bulletin  of  the  United  States  Bureau 
of  Education,  a  total  of  ninety-nine  cities  had  public 
classes  for  mentally  defective  pupils,  and  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty  had  classes  for  what  was  called 
"mentally  backward"  children.  Since  1911  this 
number  has  greatly  increased. 

The  first  city  to  plan  for  a  complete  organization  of 
these  classes  directly  under  the  school  administra- 
tion was  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  which  had  six 
classes  for  truants  and  disciplinary  cases,  and  a  sep- 
arate class  for  backward  children,  by  1896.  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts,  followed  with  special  classes  in 
1898,  and  Boston  in  1899. 

At  the  present  time  school  reports  show  that  cer- 
tain states  are  very  far  ahead  of  others  in  provision 
for  subnormal  children.  California,  Illinois,  New 


SPECIAL   CLASSES  AND   SPECIAL   SCHOOLS    275 

Jersey,  Wisconsin,  Ohio,  New  York,  Minnesota,  Iowa, 
Missouri,  and  Massachusetts  are  among  the  leaders. 

Organization  of  Special  Classes.  In  cities  where 
the  school  population  is  sufficient  to  call  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  several  classes  for  the  subnormal,  it 
is  usual  to  consider  them  as  a  department,  and  to 
place  this  department  under  a  supervisor,  especially 
trained  to  administer  it.  The  curriculum  is  planned 
by  the  supervisor,  in  consultation  with  the  teachers, 
and  others  who  may  be  concerned.  The  work  is  thus 
coordinated  under  a  responsible  head.  Examples  of 
this  organization  are  seen  in  New  York,  St.  Louis, 
Duluth,  Richmond,  and  in  many  other  large  cities. 

For  rural  districts  and  small  towns  the  state  may 
provide  the  administration  of  special  classes,  in  co- 
operation with  the  local  authorities.  For  example, 
the  State  of  New  York  provides  a  supervisor  of  spe- 
cial classes  in  the  state  department  of  education,  in 
accordance  with  a  law  passed  in  1918.  The  first  re- 
port of  the  state  supervisor  of  special  classes  in  Wis- 
consin has  recently  been  issued.  Michigan  has  con- 
ducted a  mental  survey  during  the  months  just 
passed,  with  the  object  of  ascertaining  what  provi- 
sions are  needed,  and  Virginia  is  engaged  in  a  similar 
enterprise. 

Special  Schools.  Usually  the  special  class  occu- 
pies a  room  in  the  building  where  the  regular  classes 
are  held,  but  in  certain  communities  the  special 
classes  of  a  large  section  are  all  placed  in  a  building 


276    PSYCHOLOGY   OP  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

by  themselves,  which  is  then  called  a  special  school 
This  plan  has  the  advantage  of  rendering  possible  the 
more  exact  grading  of  the  children  by  mental  age. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  has  the  disadvantage  of  bring- 
ing the  children  a  greater  distance  from  home  than 
does  the  special  class  which  is  maintained  in  the  reg- 
ular school  building.  Each  plan,  in  fact,  has  its  ad- 
vantages, and  hence  its  staunch  advocates. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  noted  that  the  state 
institutions  for  the  feeble-minded  are  now  called 
schools,  where  laws  pertaining  to  their  maintenance 
have  recently  been  re-formulated.  Formerly,  when 
intellectual  subnormality  was  considered  a  mental 
disease,  the  institutions  for  the  feeble-minded  were 
called  asylums,  and  were  maintained  as  custodial  in- 
stitutions, on  a  medical  basis.  With  the  passing  of 
this  concept  of  intellectual  subnormality,  and  with 
the  recognition  of  the  fact  that  children  sent  to  these 
institutions  are  continuous  in  ability  and  kind  with 
children  in  general,  the  word  "  asylum  "  is  disappear- 
ing, and  the  institutions  are  being  placed  on  an  edu- 
cational basis,  under  the  designation  school.  These 
then  become  special  schools,  belonging  under  the 
supervision  of  the  state  department  of  education. 
Of  course  in  these  institutions  there  will  always  be 
a  number  of  cases  where  mental  development  cannot 
rise  above  the  level  of  infancy,  and  these  will  need 
nurses  rather  than  teachers,  as  infants  do.  The  ma- 
jority of  inmates  are  improvable  by  education,  just 


SPECIAL   CLASSES  AND   SPECIAL  SCHOOLS    277 

as  other  children  are,  though  in  lesser  degree.  Of 
these  state  schools  the  most  widely  known  are  the 
Training  School  for  the  Feeble-minded  at  Waverly, 
Massachusetts;  the  Training  School  for  the  Feeble- 
minded and  Epileptic,  at  Faribault,  Minnesota;  the 
Whittier  State  School,  at  Whittier,  California;  and 
the  Sonoma  State  Home  at  Eldridge,  California. 
The  Training  School  for  the  Feeble-minded  at  Vine- 
land,  New  Jersey,  which  is  perhaps  better  known  here 
and  abroad  than  any  other  special  school  of  its  kind 
in  this  country,  is  not  strictly  a  state  institution,  be- 
ing supported  to  a  great  extent  privately.  All 
these  schools  have  become  famous  through  their  edu- 
cational system,  and  through  the  research  which  they 
have  carried  on  in  the  psychology  and  treatment  of 
the  mentally  defective. 

State  institutions  for  the  feeble-minded  began  to 
be  established  in  the  United  States  about  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  first  institution  of 
the  kind  in  the  United  States  was  built  at  Syracuse, 
New  York,  in  1854.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  it 
was  built  as  a  school,  and  has  always  been  maintained 
as  a  school.  At  the  present  time  there  are  only  a  few 
states  which  are  without  provision  for  the  feeble- 
minded. 

Training  of  Teachers  for  Special  Classes.  In  or- 
der to  render  efficient  service  in  special  classes, .  a 
teacher  must  have  a  firm  grasp  on  the  psychological 
and  social  problems  presented  by  her  pupils.  This 


278     PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

means  special  training,  beyond  that  which  is  pre- 
scribed for  teachers  generally,  though  this  special 
training  need  not  be  elaborate  or  greatly  prolonged. 
Within  the  past  ten  years  departments  of  psychology 
and  education,  in  universities  and  normal  schools, 
have  organized  courses  for  teachers  of  special  classes. 
Training  is  given  in  industrial  arts,  methods  of 
teaching,  hygiene,  correction  of  speech,  the  psychol- 
ogy of  subnormal  children,  corrective  gymnastics,  and 
sociology.  The  demand  for  teachers  who  have  had 
the  prescribed  preparation  for  teaching  in  special 
classes  far  exceeds  the  supply  at  present. 

An  increasing  number  of  teachers  in  the  regular 
grades  of  the  elementary  school  elect  these  courses, 
as  they  realize  that  they  themselves  have  to  deal 
with  the  subnormal  children  in  communities  where 
no  special  classes  have  been  organized.  To  teachers 
of  the  regular  grades  it  is  especially  interesting  to 
know  how  the  feeble-minded  are  distributed  through 
the  school,  where  no  attempts  at  segregation  have 
been  made. 

Distribution  of  Subnormal  Children  in  the  Grades. 
Idiots  seldom  enter  the  public  schools,  so  that  teach- 
ers do  not  have  to  deal  with  such  children  very  fre- 
quently, unless  their  work  is  in  a  special  school,  such 
as  those  maintained  by  the  states.  If  an  idiot  en- 
ters public  school  at  all,  it  is  only  for  a  short  time  in 
kindergarten  or  first  grade.  Idiots  are  institutional 
cases,  and  are  nearly  always  recognized  as  such  by 


SPECIAL   CLASSES  AND   SPECIAL  SCHOOLS    279 

parents,  and  by  administrative  authorities  in  the 
school.  Defectives  of  IQ  lower  than  30  seldom  ap- 
pear at  school.  Defectives  between  50  and  70  IQ 
are  those  who  attend  the  public  school,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  state  institution.  In  addition  the 
public  school  has,  of  course,  all  the  degrees  of  sub- 
normality  which  range  from  70  IQ,  up  to  normal,  but 
which  are  not  technically  rated  as  "  defective."  Our 
question  is,  what  is  the  distribution  of  the  technically 
defective  in  the  grades  of  the  public  school? 

Investigation  has  shown  that  there  are  mentally 
defective  children  in  all  grades  of  the  elementary 
school,  but  that  the  number  found  above  the  sixth 
grade  is  very  small.  High-grade  defectives  may  oc- 
casionally reach  the  seventh  or  eighth  grade  in  com- 
munities where  there  is  a  rule  requiring  that  no 
child  shall  repeat  a  grade  more  than  once.  Under 
such  a  rule,  promotion  becomes  automatic,  and  pres- 
ence in  a  given  grade  loses  much  of  the  significance 
it  should  have  in  relation  to  mental  capacity.  Very 
little  study  has  been  made  of  the  intelligence  of 
high  school  pupils,  but  the  indication  is  that  ado- 
lescents with  an  IQ  as  low  as  70  practically  never 
enter  public  high  school.  It  cannot  be  said  that  ado- 
lescents as  low  in  the  scale  as  70  IQ  absolutely  never 
enter  high  school,  for  an  instance  is  known  to  the 
present  writer  where  a  girl  of  intelligence  nearly  as 
low  as  this  actually  did  enter  a  public  high  school,  and 
was  retained  there  for  several  weeks.  However,  the 


280     PSYCHOLOGY   OF  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

high  school  teacher  has  little  concern  with  the  techni- 
cally defective,  though  the  subnormal  who  lie  be- 
tween 80  and  90 IQ  very  often  complicate  high  school 
problems. 

It  is  true,  then,  that  the  teachers  of  kindergarten, 
first  grade,  second  grade,  third  grade,  fourth  grade, 
fifth  grade,  and  sixth  grade  will  have  charge  of  the 
mentally  defective,  in  school  systems  which  make  no 
provision  for  special  classes.  Teachers  of  kinder- 
garten and  first  grade  commonly  have  to  deal  with  all 
defective  children  in  the  community,  who  are  above 
the  status  of  idiocy.  A  typical  example  of  this  was 
seen  in  a  Nebraska  town  of  about  four  thousand  in- 
habitants. The  teacher  of  the  first  grade  had  two 
rows  of  pupils  far  beyond  first-grade  age,  sitting  in 
the  first-grade  room.  The  true  nature  of  the  diffi- 
culties experienced  with  these  children  was  not  well 
understood.  The  complaint  was  that  they  had  not 
yet  been  able  to  learn  to  read  or  write  a  single  word, 
and  since  they  could  not  proceed  to  the  next  grade 
until  these  arts  had  been  mastered  to  some  extent, 
they  were  "  kept  back."  Some  of  them  had  spent 
three  or  four  years  in  this  room,  taking  the  time  of 
the  teacher  from  the  other  pupils,  and  disturbing  the 
discipline  of  the  class,  held  there  to  tasks  which  were 
irrelevant  to  their  needs. 

Teachers  of  second  grade  also  have  to  deal  with 
nearly  all  of  the  defective  children  of  a  community, 
for  they  seldom  pass  beyond  the  compulsory  school 


SPECIAL  CLASSES  AND   SPECIAL   SCHOOLS    281 

age  without  visiting  the  second  grade.  Scarcely  ever 
would  a  child  be  kept  for  eight  or  ten  years  in  the 
first  grade.  He  would  be  promoted  at  least  once, 
if  for  no  weightier  reason  than  that  a  change  might 
be  thought  to  be  beneficial. 

Teachers  of  third  and  fourth  grade  have  at  any 
given  time  more  defectives  than  any  others,  because 
there  is  a  strong  tendency  for  those  of  the  status  of 
moron  to  collect  there.  It  is  necessary  to  bear  in 
mind  the  fact  that  as  the  degree  of  defect  becomes 
milder,  the  numbers  become  greater.  There  are 
many  more  morons  than  imbeciles,  and  the  former 
practically  always  reach  the  third  or  fourth  grade 
before  they  pass  the  compulsory  school  age,  even  in 
schools  where  promotion  is  not  regulated  by  artificial 
rules.  They  are  able  to  perform  the  work  of  the 
third  or  fourth  grade  by  the  time  they  are  fifteen  or 
sixteen  years  old,  because  their  mental  level  is  then 
eight  or  nine  years,  and  thus  they  really  "  reach  " 
these  grades. 

In  school  systems  where  the  rule  is  that  a  pupil 
may  repeat  a  grade  only  once,  the  defective  reaches 
the  fifth  or  sixth  grade,  before  the  compulsory  school 
age  is  passed.  In  many  states  the  limit  of  com- 
pulsory attendance  is  sixteen  years,  for  all  who 
have  not  by  that  age  passed  successfully  beyond 
the  sixth  grade.  Under  such  circumstances,  where 
no  provision  has  been  made  for  the  scientific  se- 
lection of  the  deficient,  the  defective  child  enters 


282    PSYCHOLOGY   OP  SUBNORMAL  CHILDREN 

school  at  about  the  age  of  six  years.  If  he  re- 
peats every  grade  once  on  his  scholastic  journey, 
he  reaches  the  third  grade  and  remains  in  it  dur- 
ing the  years  ten  to  twelve,  he  is  in  the  fourth  grade 
during  the  years  twelve  to  fourteen,  and  is  in  the 
fifth  grade  from  fourteen  to  sixteen.  Thereafter 
he  is  above  the  age  of  compulsory  attendance,  and 
drops  out  of  school.  This  is  the  typical  career  of 
many  a  feeble-minded  boy  and  girl,  who  have  dragged 
on  through  the  elementary  grades  in  this  fashion, 
a  burden  to  their  teachers,  to  the  administrative 
officers,  and  to  themselves,  never  being  recognized 
for  what  they  really  are.  At  the  end  of  such  a 
course,  time,  money,  and  effort  have  all  been  spent, 
and  the  boy  or  girl  has  learned  almost  nothing  that 
is  useful  to  one  of  such  limited  capacity.  A  feeble- 
minded boy  after  spending  several  months  in  a  grade 
beyond  his  mental  age  was  asked  to  tell  what  he  had 
learned  during  the  term.  All  he  could  say  was  that, 
"  An  interrogative  sentence  begins  with  a  capital  let- 
ter." Asked  to  illustrate  by  giving  an  interrogative 
sentence,  he  was  unable  to  respond.  He  had  no  con- 
ception of  what  he  was  talking  about.  The  work  of 
the  year  had  been  a  meaningless  verbal  jumble  to 
him,  in  no  sense  training  him,  or  preparing  him  for 
social  participation.  The  state,  having  the  inten- 
tion of  training  him,  had  in  reality  forcibly  deprived 
him  of  an  education,  by  compelling  him  to  attend  on 
the  work  of  the  regular  grades. 


SPECIAL  CLASSES  AND   SPECIAL   SCHOOLS    283 

The  Relation  between  the  Special  Classes  and  the 
Psychological  Clinic.  The  first  step  in  the  proper 
training  of  the  subnormal  is  identification.  When 
special  classes  were  first  started,  there  was  no  tech- 
nique for  the  scientific  identification  of  the  intellec- 
tually subnormal.  Children  were  entered  in  the 
special  classes  largely  on  the  basis  of  general  conduct. 
In  this  way  children  of  all  degrees  of  intelligence  were 
collected,  in  a  heterogeneous  group,  with  nothing  in 
common  except  unsatisfactory  conduct,  or  backward- 
ness in  school  work.  Educators  were  not  slow  to 

* 

see  that  the  success  of  the  special  class  is  directly  de- 
pendent upon  the  accurate  identification  of  the  pupils 
who  really  belong  in  it.  As  psychologists  devel- 
oped a  scientific  technique  for  identifying  the  subnor- 
mal, educators  called  them  into  service,  and  the  psy- 
chological clinic  developed,  as  we  have  already  seen 
in  a  previous  chapter.  The  chief  function  of  the  psy- 
chological clinic  is  identification;  the  diagnosis  of 
conduct.  It  therefore  bears  an  essential  relation  to 
the  special  class.  In  follow-up  work  the  clinic  is  also 
an  important  agency,  as  it  keeps  the  records  pertain- 
ing to  each  child,  and  can  keep  and  furnish  subse- 
quent history. 

Follow-up  Work.  It  is  not  infrequently  supposed 
by  those  who  have  made  no  systematic  study  of  the 
subject,  that  the  school  will  permanently  solve  the 
whole  problem  of  mental  deficiency,  by  administer- 
ing training  suited  to  the  mental  level  of  each  child. 


284     PSYCHOLOGY   OP   SUBNORMAL   CHILDREN 

The  training  plays,  however,  only  a  part  (though  a 
large  part),  in  the  solution  of  the  problem.  No 
training  can  ever  provide  intelligence,  the  ability  to 
meet  new  situations  adequately,  to  make  adaptations 
in  emergencies,  to  perceive  the  remote  consequences 
of  present  acts.  Thus  the  defective  if  left  to  his  own 
supervision  is  much  more  likely  than  is  the  average 
person  to  fall  into  trouble,  to  "  lose  his  job,"  and  to 
become  dependent  in  spite  of  the  specific  skills  which 
he  has  acquired  by  training. 

In  order  to  reduce  these  dangers  to  a  minimum 
some  system  of  follow-up  work  is  necessary.  Just 
what  this  system  shall  be  is  a  question  at  present 
much  discussed  by  social  workers,  educators,  and  cit- 
izens interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  state.  We  need 
especially  to  know  the  subsequent  histories  of  the 
graduates  of  special  classes.  We  need  to  know 
what  their  success  is,  socially  and  industrially.  A 
few  preliminary  studies  have  been  published  by  in- 
spectors of  ungraded  classes,  and  the  indication  is 
that  the  graduates  of  special  classes  are  able  to  main- 
tain themselves  industrially  to  a  surprising  degree. 
The  findings  are  somewhat  complicated,  to  be  sure, 
by  the  fact  that  labor  has  been  very  scarce  during  the 
years  of  the  war,  and  wages  have  been  high. 
Whether  the  subnormal  will  make  as  good  a  show- 
ing in  more  normal  times  remains  to  be  seen. 

As  a  final  word,  let  it  be  said  that  the  school  alone 
cannot  solve  the  problem  of  mental  deficiency.  All 


SPECIAL   CLASSES  AND   SPECIAL   SCHOOLS    285 

the  agencies  and  agents  of  social  welfare  must  en- 
list in  an  intelligent  cooperation,  to  the  end  that 
the  subnormal  may  find  social  adjustment  and  cease 
to  be  a  menace  and  a  burden  to  the  state,  and  to 
themselves. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Farrell,  E.  E.,  A  Preliminary  Report  on  the  Careers  of  350 
Children  who  Have  Left  Ungraded  Classes.    Journal  of  Psycho- 
Asthenics.    Sept.  and  Dec.,  1915. 

2.  Fitts,  A.  M.,  Mental  Defectives  in  Industry.    Ungraded. 
May,  1919. 

3.  Maxfield,  F.  N.,  The  Present  Status  of  the   Subnormal 
Class.    State  Council  of  Education.    New  Jersey.    Oct.,  1918. 

4.  Michigan,  State  of,  Backward  and  Deficient  Children.    De- 
partment of  Public  Instruction.    Lansing.     1918. 

5.  Mitchell,  D.,  Schools  and  Classes  for  Exceptional  Children. 
Cleveland  Foundation.    Cleveland,  Ohio.    1916. 

6.  New  York  City,  Reports  on  Special  Classes.    Department 
of  Education.     1916-17. 

7.  Oakland,  California,  Annual  Report  of  The  Superintend- 
ent of  Public  Schools.    Board  of  Education.    1917-18. 

8.  Richmond,  Va.,  Report  of  the  Work  of  Special  Classes. 
City  School  Board.    Sept.,  1918. 

9.  St.  Louis,   Missouri,  The  Psycho-Educational   Clinic   and 
Special  Schools.    Annual  Report  of  the  Superintendent  of  Instruc- 
tion.   1916-17. 

10.  Wisconsin,  State  of,  The  Exceptional  Child  in  the  Public 
Schools.  Biennial  Report.  State  Department  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion. Madison.  1919. 


INDEX 


Abilities,  special,  125,  126 
Adenoids,  223 
Alcoholism,   19,  219 
Arithmetic,  126,  127 

Bellevue  Hospital,  259,  265 
Birth-rate  of  feeble-minded,  146 
Boston,  special  classes  of,  274 

California,  expenditures  for  crime, 
21;  School  of  Industry,  33; 
Juvenile  Court,  33 

Chicago,  special  classes  of,  274 

Chorea,  258 

Classification  of  mental  defectives, 
52 

Cleveland,  special  classes  of,  273 

Cranium,  135 

Cretinism,  242 

Crimes  of  feeble-minded,  155 

Criteria,  social-economic,  43  ;  peda- 
gogical, 44 ;  medical,  45 ;  psy- 
chological, 48 

Curriculum,  differentiated,  25 ;  for 
feeble-minded,  187 

Delinquency,   18 ;  among  children, 

32 

Dementia,  49 ;  prsecox,  262 
Detroit,  prevocational  classes,  127 
Development,  "arrested,"  94 ;  phys- 
ical, 96 ;    mental,  99 ;    limits  of, 
98 ;  in  mental  defectives,  100, 105 
Diagnosis,    how    made,    70 ;    early 

diagnosis  important,  200 
Disabilities,  special,  125,  126 
Drawings   of    feeble-minded,    183, 
184 

Echolalia,  255 

Education,  implications  for,  90, 
129,  168,  187;  physical,  145; 


moral,  167 ;  first  experiment  in 
education  of  a  defective,  203 

Emotion,  153 

Encephalitis,  245 

Environment,  as  related  to  feeble- 
mindedness, 15 

Epilepsy,  246 

Eugenics,  236 

Experimentation,  63,  85,  86,  88,  97, 
98,  101,  105,  111,  112,  113,  118, 
125,  126,  127,  137,  138,  139,  161, 
173,  175,  176,  177,  179,  180,  182, 
183,  184,  199,  203,  220,  222,  223, 
225,  229,  230,  231,  232,  235,  244, 
284 

Fighting,  159 
Follow-up  work,  283 

Glands,  241 

Growth,  physical,  95 ;  mental,  97 

Habit,  167,  198 

Heredity,   208 ;    of  mental  defect, 

209;  nature  of,  214 
Hookworm,  229 
Hydrocephalus,  244 
Hysteria,  261 

Idiots-savants,  127 
Imbeciles,  moral,  167 
Improvement,  nature  of,  197 
Individual  differences,  5 
Infantile  cerebral  degeneration,  248 
Inferiority,  constitutional,  54 
Injury  to  the  brain,  248 
Instinct,   general  consideration  of, 

150;  in  the  feeble-minded,   120, 

154 

Intelligence,  116,  117 
Intelligence  quotient,  67 


287 


288 


INDEX 


Jukes  Family,  209 
Kallikak  Family,  212 

Learning  process,  170;  of  feeble- 
minded, 171 ;  curves,  173,  177 ; 
mental  age  in,  181 

Legislation,  237,  271 

Malaria,  229 

Malnutrition,  224 

Manic-depressive  insanity,  in  men- 
tal defectives,  263 

Manual  arts,  115 

Meningitis,  245 

Mental  age,  64,  181,  178 

Mental  defectives,  classification  of, 
52 ;  scientific  study  of,  17 ;  iden- 
tification of,  55;  education  of, 
271 

Mental  deficiency,  definition  of, 
38;  criteria  of,  42 

Mental  tests,  62,  64,  66,  69,  70 

Microcephalus,  145 

Minnesota,  State  School  for  Feeble- 
Minded,  125 

Mongolians,  144 

Mortality  among  feeble-minded, 
146 

Mothers,  unmarried,  20 

Nervous    system,    growth   of,    97 ; 

diseases  of,  240 

New  Jersey,  Newark,  clinic  of,  71 
New  York,  expenditures  for  crime, 
21 ;  Clearing  House  for  Mental 
Defectives,  34 ;  Department  of 
Ungraded  Classes,  125;  Munici- 
pal Lodging  House,  202 

Pennsylvania,  University,  clinic  of, 

75 

Perception,  120 
Practice  curves,  173,  177 
Prenatal  influences,  217 


Prevention    of    mental    deficiency, 

206,  236 

Prostitutes,  mental  status  of,  20 
Providence,  special  classes  of,  274 
Psychographic  methods,  69 
Psychologist,  73 
Psychological  clinics,  74,  76 

Race,  as  related  to  feeble-minded- 
ness,  14 

Reading,  126,  127 

Responsibility,  legal,  165 

Retardation,  in  the  schools,  24 ; 
causes  of,  26 

Secondary  cases,  240 

Sensory  capacity,  110;  defects,  220 

Sex,  9,  11,  158 

Special  classes,  271,  273,  277 

Special  schools,  271,  275 

Speech,  253 

Springfield,  special  classes  of,  274 

Stigmata,  133,  139 

Suggestibility,  160 

Superior  children,  8,  234,  235 

Surveys,  mental,  27 

Syphilis,  240 

Syracuse,  State  School,  277 

Teeth,  defects  of,  221 

Texas,  State  Reformatory,  33 

Tics,  114 

Tonsils,  223 

Training,  transfer  of,  179 ;  indus- 
trial, 130 ;  physical,  146 ;  moral, 
167 ;  in  specific  habits,  195 

Unemployment,  20 

Variability,  1;  physical,  3,  138; 
mental,  5,  6,  7 ;  in  school  attain- 
ment of  children  with  identical 
mental  ages,  125 

Variation,  208 

Vineland,  136 

Vital  capacity,  137 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANGELES 
EDUCATION  AND  PSYCHOLOGY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


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